Investigation of a Novel Catalyst KOH/K2CO3@γ-Al2O3 Toward Polycarbonate Diol Synthesis

Abstract Polycarbonate diols (PCDLs) are intermediates used in the synthesis of polyurethanes (PU), and therefore their efficient and green synthesis is a necessity. In this work, KOH/K 2 CO 3 @ γ -Al 2 O 3 catalysts were prepared and employed in the synthesis of PCDLs. A 4 wt% KOH/40 wt% K 2 CO 3 @ γ -Al 2 O 3 catalyst and a DMC: 1,4-BDO molar ratio of 1.25:1 exhibited the best activity for the reaction and gave a PCDL yield of 95% with a molecular weight of 4527 g·mol −1 . Moreover, the catalyst could be reused 4 times without a significant loss of the catalytic activity in transesterification. The effects of the catalyst composition and reaction conditions on the synthesis of PCDLs were investigated. The results indicate that the catalyst amount and the molar ratio of DMC: 1,4-BDO can influence the purity of PCDLs. Graphic Abstract The reaction equation Catalyst preparation The synthesis of PCDLs using DMC and 1,4-BDO