Efficient synthesis of polycarbonate ether polyol via copolymerization of CO2 and 1,2-butylene oxide over a layered Zn–Co double metal cyanide catalyst

Polycarbonate ether polyol synthesized by the copolymerization of carbon dioxide (CO2) and epoxides is a promising technology for chemically fixing CO2 and manufacturing degradable polymeric materials. However, research on the copolymerization of CO2 and 1,2-butylene oxide (BO) to produce polycarbonate ether polyol is relatively scarce. Herein, we employed layered Zn–Co double metal cyanide (L-DMC) as a catalyst for the copolymerization of CO2 and BO to obtain polycarbonate ether polyol. Under optimized conditions, the L-DMC-mediated copolymerization of CO2 and BO displays excellent activity (catalytic productivity up to 1500 g polymer per g catalyst) and a high CO2 incorporation fraction in polycarbonate ether polyol rate of 35.5%. In situ FTIR spectroscopy experiments showed a short induction period (10 min) in polymerization and competition between the synthesized polycarbonate ether polyol and butylene carbonate (BC). The properties of easy preparation, stability, and excellent catalytic performance of L-DMC suggest that it may be a promising candidate for large-scale production of CO2–BO-based polymers.