Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 as an efficient catalyst for ring-opening copolymerization of carbon dioxide with alicyclic epoxides

Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) obtained from room-temperature synthesis was found to be an effective catalyst for the ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP) of CO2 and cyclohexene oxide (CHO) to generate CO2-based poly(cyclohexene carbonate)s with >99% carbonate linkages under optimized conditions. Apart from CO2/CHO ROCOP, it was also demonstrated that the same ZIF complex efficiently copolymerized CO2 with 4-vinyl-1,2-cyclohexene oxide to obtain vinyl-functionalized polycarbonates.