Functionalization of HMTA and investigation of its catalytic activity in thereaction of CO۲ and epoxide

In recent years, the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO۲) into valuable compounds has gainedsignificant attention as a way to decrease the green housegas CO۲ [۱]. In this study, we focused onthe functionalization of hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) with a halogen and then investigate itscatalytic activity for converting CO۲ to cyclic carbonates. HMTA was converted to HMTA+XwhereX = I, Cl, Br at mild reaction conditions. The synthesized HMTA+X- was used as a catalystin CO۲ conversion with styrene oxide, aiming to produce styrene carbonate [۲], which holds greatpotential as a green solvent and a useful reactant for generating biodegradable polymers [۳]. Thereaction conditions, including temperature, catalyst loading, and reaction time were accuratelyoptimized through DOE to achieve the highest yields. The results demonstrated that HMTA+Xexhibitedremarkable catalytic activity and under optimized conditions, we could achieve a yieldof >۹۹% for the formation of styrene carbonate. In conclusion, our study presents a successfulsynthesis of a novel HMTA derivative. We investigate its catalytic activity for CO۲ conversioninto styrene carbonate, highlighting its potential for sustainable CO۲ utilization. These resultscontribute to the development of metal-free catalysts and provide insights into the efficienttransformation of CO۲ into value-added chemicals [۴].

Keywords:

HMTA , Carbon dioxide , Carbon Conversion , Catalysis