Chapter 11: Heterogeneous Copolymerization of CO₂

Recently, catalytic conversion of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide to chemical commodities has received much interest. Among various possibilities, the copolymerization of CO₂ with cyclic ethers to produce aliphatic polycarbonates is a promising approach. Among various homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, the Zn-dicarboxylates and double metal cyanide complexes are mainly used in the large-scale production of aliphatic polycarbonates. In this chapter, the developments in the heterogeneously catalyzed copolymerization of CO₂ with cyclic ethers are briefly reported.