Synthesis of Cyclic Organic Carbonates Via Catalytic Oxidative Carboxylation of Olefins in Flow Reactors

A methodology for direct catalytic conversion of olefins into cyclic carbonates using peroxide and carbon dioxide under relatively mild conditions is developed. The protocol utilizes packed bed reactors in continuous flow to couple rhenium catalyzed olefin epoxidation and aluminum catalyzed epoxide carboxylation in a single sequence. The use of an in-line membrane separator enables the compartmentalization of mutually incompatible peroxide and tetrabutylammonium iodide. Both aliphatic and aromatic terminal olefins were shown to be viable substrates for the developed method.