Low-cost and high-performance acetylglucose-based imidazolium salts for copper-catalyzed cyclization of propargylic amines and CO2

The rise of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in atmosphere is considered as a major cause of global warming. Therefore, CO₂ utilization has attracted increasing attention. Among those, using CO₂ as C1-feedstock for “value carbon” in advanced chemicals provides a solution. Here, we show an acetylglucose-based imidazolium salt for Cu-catalyzed cyclization of propargylic amines and CO₂ with an excellent turnover frequency value of 400 h⁻¹. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first example of acetylglucose-based imidazolium salts for a noble-metal-free Cu catalytic system for the cyclization of propargylic amines and CO₂.