Synthesis of zinc glutarates with various morphologies using an amphiphilic template and their catalytic activities in the copolymerization of carbon dioxide and propylene oxide

Various heterogeneous zinc glutarate (ZnGA) catalysts were synthesized in solvent systems of various polarities from zinc acetate dihydrate and glutaric acid with and without the aid of an amphiphilic block copolymer, poly(ethylene glycol-b-propylene glycol-b-ethylene glycol) (PE6400), as a template. The presence of the PE6400 template and the polarity of the solvent significantly affected the morphology, particle size, surface area, and crystallinity of the resulting catalyst. However, all the catalysts had the same crystal lattice unit cell structure and similar surface compositions. The surface compositions of the catalysts were quite different from those of conventionally prepared ZnGA catalysts, that is, those prepared from zinc oxide and glutaric acid in toluene. All these characteristics of the catalysts influenced the ZnGA-catalyzed copolymerization of carbon dioxide and propylene oxide. The catalytic activities of the catalysts in this copolymerization depended primarily on their surface area and secondarily on their crystallinity; a larger surface area and a higher crystallinity resulted in higher catalytic activity. Of the catalysts that we prepared, the ZnGA catalyst that was prepared in ethanol containing 5.5 wt % water with the PE6400 template, ZnGA-PE3, exhibited the highest catalytic activity in the copolymerization. The catalytic activity of ZnGA-PE3 was attributed to its wrinkled petal bundle morphology, which provided a large surface area and high crystallinity.