Resourcification of CO2 to high-value-added glycerol carbonate by ZnAlCe composite oxides with frustrated Lewis pairs

Zinc-aluminum-cerium composite oxide (ZnAlCe) catalysts were prepared by co-precipitation to catalyze the direct synthesis of glycerol carbonate (GC) from carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and glycerol. The characterization results showed that the lattice oxygen served as Lewis basic centers and Ce 4+ served as Lewis acidic centers on Zn 4 AlCe catalyst, and frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) were formed due to the steric hindrance in the catalyst structure. CO 2 was easily activated by FLPs because the acidic and basic centers of FLPs bound to the oxygen and carbon atoms of CO 2 , respectively. The experimental results indicated that Zn 4 AlCe catalyst presented excellent catalytic performance with good thermal stability and strong regeneration ability. Under the reaction conditions of 0.115 g catalyst, 12 h, 170 °C, 4.5 MPaCO 2 and 5 mL acetonitrile dosage, the GC yield and selectivity were 28.9 % and 51.0 %, respectively. The GC yield is relatively high among similar catalysts reported so far, which lays the foundation for future industrial considerations.