Porous liquids-enhanced CO₂ adsorption for glycerol carbonate synthesis

The catalytic conversion of CO₂ into value-added chemicals has attracted significant attention for its potential to promote both sustainability and economic viability. Glycerol carbonate (GC) is a valuable target; however, its conventional synthesis requires high pressure and temperature, largely due to the low solubility of CO₂ and the necessity for specialized catalysts. Herein, a novel porous liquid (PL) is developed by integrating a deep eutectic solvent (DES) with UiO-66-NH₂. The obtained PL system served as both a catalyst and a gas adsorption enhancer for the cycloaddition of CO₂ with glycerol to produce GC. Experimental results demonstrated that the PL exhibited significantly enhanced CO₂ adsorption capacity compared to pure DES. Simulations revealed that CO₂ diffused more rapidly and uniformly in the PL system than in pure DES. As a result, under mild conditions (65 °C, 1 atm, 2 h), the GC yield in PL increased from 50.8 % up to 70.8 %, representing an approximately 40 % relative enhancement compared to DES alone. Finally, the PL system showed good reusability, maintaining stable catalytic performance over at least five consecutive cycles. These results highlight the potential of DES-based PLs as efficient platforms for CO₂ capture and catalytic conversion, contributing to sustainable chemical processes.