ONO pincer type ligand complexes of Al(III) as efficient catalyst for chemical fixation of CO2 to epoxides at atmospheric pressure

Carbon dioxide , the main cause of environmental pollution, its utilization to produce valuable products is of utmost interest. A series ONO pincer hydrazone based most active mono-nuclear Al(III) complexes were successfully synthesized and characterized with the help of NMR, IR, mass spectrometry and only complex 2a was confirmed by single-crystal analysis. The synthesized Al(III) complexes were then employed as capable catalysts for the solvent-free chemical fixation of CO 2 with epoxides at atmospheric pressure and could be reused five times without loss of any catalytic activity. In addition, the catalytic mechanism was investigated by analyzing intermediates via 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, and mass MALDI-TOF. The excellent catalytic performance could be due to simultaneous attack and the opening of the epoxide by metal centers to form an alkoxide ion which activates the CO 2 the same time.