Enhanced CO₂ conversion through confinement of cross-linked ionic polymer within the pores of porous carbon materials

It is crucial to employ an integrated catalyst to avoid the complications of the recovery process. This work reports the fabrication of porous carbon@ionic liquid (PC@IL) composites with readily accessible active ion sites, achieved by confining cross-linked ionic liquid (IL) within the channels of porous carbon (PC). The incorporation of porous carbon not only confines the IL within its framework, creating microsites for CO₂ adsorption and conversion, but also simplifies catalyst recovery. The results indicate that PC@IL composites exhibit excellent cycloaddition activity towards CO₂ in a co-catalyst- and solvent-free environment. Notably, PC@IL(C)-24 demonstrates remarkable catalytic performance across various epoxides under 1 bar of CO₂, with yields above 90 % at 90 °C for 12 h, and achieving a remarkable styrene carbonate yield of up to 92.8 % under a CO₂ pressure of 1 bar (at 100 °C for 12 h). Control experiments confirm that the confinement effect exerted by N,S co-doped carbon on cross-linked IL plays a pivotal role in enhancing both stability and activity of PC@IL composites, thereby providing novel insights for designing functionalized porous carbon catalysts for CO₂ cycloaddition conversion.