Conversion of carbon dioxide and olefins into cyclic carbonates in water

In this manuscript, we have developed a highly efficient method to convert alkenes and CO2 into cyclic carbonates directly in water by using N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) together with 1,8diazabicyclo[5.4.0] undecenc-7-ene (DBU) in water, or by using a catalytic amount of bromide ion together with aqueous H2O2.