Scalable Main Group Mechanocatalytic CO₂ Valorisation to Cyclocarbonate Species

Over the past two decades, main group elements have gained attention as promising substitutes for precious metals in catalytic processes. Additionally, mechanochemistry is emerging as a field with the potential to promote catalytic reactions under mild conditions. Herein, we report a scalable, main-group mechanocatalytic synthesis of cyclic carbonates from both solid and liquid epoxides, using CO₂ as a renewable feedstock under mild conditions with a gallium aminotrisphenolate catalyst. Unlike solution-based methods that generally require high temperatures and/or high CO₂ pressures, this mechanocatalytic process operates at just 1 bar and room temperature. The developed mechanochemical method affords the targeted compounds in high yields while also enabling efficient transformation of multi-terminal epoxides and avoiding the conversion losses typically observed in solution. Furthermore, this scalable method outperforms solution-based approaches across all green metrics, setting a new benchmark for environmentally friendly synthesis.