Cascade Conversion of CO to Ethylene Carbonate under Ambient Conditions.

Ethylene carbonate (EC) is the simplest cyclic carbonate with great industrial significance, most importantly as the vital electrolyte component for lithium-ion batteries. Its conventional synthesis generally involves the use of toxic precursors and requires elevated temperatures and pressures. Herein, we propose a cascade catalytic route for converting CO to EC under ambient conditions. Such a hybrid reaction scheme consists of the electrochemical reduction of CO to ethylene catalyzed by copper in a membrane electrode assembly reactor, the bromine-mediated conversion of ethylene to bromoethanol catalyzed by WO nanoarrays grown on carbon cloth, and the reaction between bromoethanol and CO to form EC. By separately optimizing individual catalytic steps and then integrating them together in series, we achieved the conversion of CO to EC at a good yield under room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Our study also represents the first demonstration about the successful synthesis of organic carbonates from CO as the exclusive carbon source.