Cascade Conversion of CO<sub>2</sub> to Ethylene Carbonate under Ambient Conditions
Zhaoyu Wen, Mengjing Wang, Chenglin Liang, Baojie Fan, Yuchen Yan, Fan Jia, Na Han, Yuhang Wang, Yanguang Li
Abstract
Ethylene carbonate (EC) is the simplest cyclic carbonate with great industrial significance, most importantly as the vital electrolyte component for lithium-ion batteries. Its conventional synthesis generally involves the use of toxic precursors and requires elevated temperatures and pressures. Herein, we propose a cascade catalytic route for converting CO 2 to EC under ambient conditions. Such a hybrid reaction scheme consists of the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 to ethylene catalyzed by copper in a membrane electrode assembly reactor, the bromine-mediated conversion of ethylene to bromoethanol catalyzed by WO 3 nanoarrays grown on carbon cloth, and the reaction between bromoethanol and CO 2 to form EC. By separately optimizing individual catalytic steps and then integrating them together in series, we achieved the conversion of CO 2 to EC at a good yield under room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Our study also represents the first demonstration about the successful synthesis of organic carbonates from CO 2 as the exclusive carbon source.