Carbon dioxide conversion to polycarbonates via CO2/cyclohexene oxide copolymerization over heterogeneous zinc cobalt catalyst

CO2 emissions are a major contributor to greenhouse effects, which led researchers to explore the utilization of it. However, thermodynamic stability of CO2 hinders its reactivity. In this work CO2 polycarbonates were synthesized via the alternate insertion of CO2 into epoxides over heterogeneous catalysts based on zinc cobalt and ferrous. Alternating CO2 polycarbonates represents an attractive method to utilize and store CO2 as they are less energy intensive alternative to phosgene-based polycarbonates. The produced polymer has up to 30 % of its weight comprised of CO2 and remains stable up to 200 C. Copolymerization process was simulated using Aspen Plus