Copolymerization of phenyl glycidyl ether with carbon dioxide catalyzed by ionic liquids

The copolymerization of phenyl glycidyl ether (PGE) and carbon dioxide was performed without any solvent in the presence of ionic liquid as catalyst. The reaction was carried out in a batch autoclave reactor. The carbonate content of polycarbonate was affected by the structure of imidazolium salt ionic liquid; the one with the cation of bulkier alkyl chain length and with more nucleophilic anion showed better reactivity. However, the yield of carbon dioxide addition decreased when hexyl or octyl containing ionic liquids were used in place of butyl group in 1-alkyl-3-methyl imidazolium salts. The carbonate content and turnover number (TON) of the polycarbonate increased as the reaction temperature increased from 40 to 80 degrees C. However, the carbonate content decreased with increasing reaction time.