Addition of CO2 to Oxiranes Using Organophoshorus–Lithium Salt Binary Catalysts

Abstract

New catalytic systems, generated by the simple mixing of lithium salts with phosphorus-containing compounds, have been developed for CO₂ addition to oxiranes. Enhanced catalyst activity is observed upon the addition of water or 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol in reactions involving low-polarity cyclohexene oxide in combination with 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane.