Heterogeneous Copolymerization of CO2

Recently, catalytic conversion of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide to chemical commodities has received much interest. Among various possibilities, the copolymerization of CO2 with cyclic ethers to produce aliphatic polycarbonates is a promising approach. Among various homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, the Zn-dicarboxylates and double metal cyanide complexes are mainly used in the large-scale production of aliphatic polycarbonates. In this chapter, the developments in the heterogeneously catalyzed copolymerization of CO2 with cyclic ethers are briefly reported.