Insight into the effect of anions on cycloaddition of CO2 catalyzed by carboxylate anion-based ionic liquids: A theoretical study by QM and MD

Elucidating the mechanism of carbon dioxide (CO2) cycloaddition reaction catalyzed by ionic liquid (ILs) facilitates the rational design of efficient IL catalysts at the molecular level. To date, a great deal of research has been devoted to the halogen-containing ILs, however, the catalytic mechanism of halogen-free ILs remains unclear. In this contribution, an exhaustive theoretical study of the coupling reaction of CO2 with epichlorohydrin (ECH) catalyzed by three halogen-free ILs has been carried out for the first time by combining density functional theory (DFT) calculations with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Meanwhile, the effect of carboxylate anion structure on catalytic activity is deeply investigated. The final results provide a comprehensive catalytic mechanism of carboxylate anion-based ILs. The most favorable mechanism involves three steps, i.e., ring-opening of ECH, CO2 insertion, and ring-closure to form the product. Among them, the ring-opening of ECH is the rate-determining step (RDS). Additionally, the analytical results of the independent gradient model based on Hirshfeld partition (IGMH) and atoms in molecules (AIM) suggest that the electrophilic activation from carboxylate anions plays a critical role in promoting the ECH ring-opening process. The electrophilic activation of anions is investigated for the first time in this work. The results indicate that incorporating electrophilic groups into anions is a promising pathway to develop new robust and efficient halogen-free ILs. (C) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study provides an exhaustive theoretical investigation of the coupling reaction between CO2 and ECH catalyzed by halogen-free ILs, revealing the crucial role of electrophilic activation from carboxylate anions. The results have significant implications for the development of novel halogen-free ILs.