Synthesizing cyclic carbonates from olefin oxides and carbon dioxide. I: Catalysis with ionic liquids

A review of catalytic systems based on ionic liquids used for promoting reactions between olefin oxides and carbon dioxide is presented. It is shown that ionic liquids based on imidazoles, pyridines, quaternary ammonium salts, and other compounds exhibit high activity in these processes and can serve as alternatives to conventional catalysts of cyclocarboxylation of olefin oxides under certain conditions. Specific features of the reactions between oxiranes and carbon dioxide in the presence of ionic liquids are considered, including reactions with the use of promoting additions based on metal salts. Mechanisms of the catalytic action of ionic liquids in syntheses of cyclocarbonates are described. Other works are critically analyzed to develop new lines in the catalysis of cyclocarboxylations of olefin oxides with ionic liquids. © 2016, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.