Zeolite-Like Metal Organic Framework (ZMOF) with a rho Topology for a CO2 Cycloaddition to Epoxides

The catalytic performances of two zeolite-like metal organic frameworks (rho-ZMOF and sod-ZMOF) were examined for the synthesis of chloropropene carbonate from CO2 and epichlorohydrin. rho-ZMOF exhibited superior catalytic activity compared to that of sod-ZMOF; rho-ZMOF achieved an excellent result of 98.0% conversion of epichlorohydrin with a 98.6% selectivity to the cyclic carbonate with tetrabutylammonium bromide as a cocatalyst after a 3 h reaction at 40 degrees C and 10 bar. rho-ZMOF retained good catalytic performance for up to five recycling runs without a loss in catalytic activity, whereas sod-ZMOF showed structural collapse during the recycling runs, which was similar to many other reported metal organic frameworks, such as ZIF-8. The high stability of rho-ZMOF for the liquid phase cycloaddition reaction was noteworthy and was believed to be derived from its more robust metal-ligand bonding in which the metal sites were coordinated by four bidentate ligands, rather than just the two found in sod-ZMOF with a coordination number of six.