Organocatalytic transformations of carbon dioxide and cyclic carbonates

Identifier:  TDX:2785

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX2785

Authors:  Sopeña de Frutos, Sergio

Abstract:
The following thesis “Organocatalytic strategies towards the synthesis and transformation of cyclic carbonates” contains new advances in the field of carbon dioxide valorization. First, the state of the art in the field is presented, as well as the most used organocatalysts and general remarks about the reaction mechanisms involved in those processes. Second, the synthesis of terminal cyclic carbonates with the help of a natural compound used as organocatalyst (tannic acid”) is studied. In this work a comparative study in terms of activity and life time of different organocatalysts is carried out, as well as the development of a new separation and recycling protocol. Third, disubstituted cyclic carbonates are synthesized with the use of squaramides as organocatalysts. Those catalysts can be easily synthesized and different properties such as solubility and catalytic activity can be easily modulated. The alternative mechanism related to this transformation is studied and supported via spectroscopic data. The forth chapter is about the synthesis of tri and tetra substituted cyclic carbonates following a totally different approach that avoid the use of a binary catalytic system. This transformation is based in the interconversion of different cyclic carbonate structures and the displacement of the equilibrium towards the formation of the most substituted product. Finally, the synthesis of carbamates via aminolysis reaction of the previously synthesized cyclic carbonates is carried out. Here in, TBD is used as catalyst, and the reaction conditions and the regioselectivity of the process is improved spectacularly.