CO2 fixation and PCHC depolymerization by dinuclear β-diketiminato zinc complex.

Production of cyclic carbonates and(or) polycarbonates from the coupling of carbon dioxide (CO2) with epoxides is a practical strategy for CO2 fixation. Chemically recycling of the polycarbonates is also urgently needed for sustainable development of plastics. Here a dinuclear β-diketiminato (BDI) methyl zinc complex((BDI-ZnMe)2, 1) is reported to achieve not only selective cyclic carbonates from cycloaddition of CO2 to meso-CHO in the presence of cocatalyst, but also effective depolymerization of PCHC into trans-CHC. The trans-CHC can be further transformed into cis-CHC, thus demonstrating great application potentials of this strategy in CO2 fixation and chemical recycling of plastics.