An atom- (100%) and energy-efficient approach to coproduce two commodity chemicals, methanol and glycols, has been demonstrated for the first time using H2, CO2, and epoxide as feeds. A basic medium used for CO2 capture, polyethyleneimine (PEI600), is shown to facilitate the formation of a key reaction intermediate, cyclic carbonates. Upon hydrogenation of cyclic carbonates in the presence of a homogenous Ru-PNP catalyst, a 1:1 mixture of methanol and glycols is produced. This ap-proach has been demonstrated in one pot by adding all the required reactants directly or stepwise. The stepwise addition of reactants resulted in good yields (>95% for PG and 84% for methanol) and selectivity of products
Revised: December 9, 2020 |
Published: November 24, 2020