Formation of a potassium coordination polymer based on a novel 2-sulfono-benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid: Synthesis, characterization, and application of the organocatalyst in CO2 cycloaddition reaction

In the present work, a new 3D potassium coordination polymer (1) was prepared by oxidation of sulfonated mesitylene. Its novel sulfono-tricarboxylic ligand, 2-sulfono-benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (2), which acted as a structure-directing building block, was successfully synthesized by ion exchange of the potassium coordination polymer (1). The 3D coordination polymer and the sulfonate-carboxylate ligand were characterized by FT-IR and H-1 and C-13 NMR spectroscopies, and their molecular structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In addition, thermal stability and adsorption/desorption behavior of 1 was investigated by TGA-DTA and N-2 adsorption/desorption techniques, respectively. The catalytic activities of the ligand, as a novel and simple organocatalyst, and the rarely explored potassium CPs were studied in the CO2 cycloaddition reaction. The results showed 2 is an efficient organocatalyst in the CO2 cycloaddition process. It is suggested that the synergetic effect among Bronsted acid COOH, Lewis base I- and free water molecules facilitate this reaction. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A new 3D potassium coordination polymer and its sulfono-tricarboxylic ligand were successfully synthesized and characterized in this study. The catalytic activities of the ligand in the CO2 cycloaddition reaction were investigated, showing efficient performance possibly due to the synergetic effect among the functional groups.