Two cobalt(II) oxaporphyrins (OTPPCoCl and OTPPCoSbF6) are synthesized in this work and are characterized, including by X-ray crystallography. Both complexes are tested as catalysts in the copolymerization of propylene oxide (PO)/cyclohexene oxide (CHO) and CO2. Polycarbonate is obtained in CHO/CO2 copolymerization with OTPPCoCl as a catalyst, whereas in the case of PO, cyclic carbonate (CC) is majorly formed. An anion exchange from Cl- to SbF6 (-) of the cobalt(II) oxaporphyrin leads to a drastic change in the product selectivity: sole polyether is afforded for both epoxides. The polyether formation by OTPPCoSbF6 is postulated to proceed via a cationic mechanism. Further, an equivalent admixture of OTPPCoCl and OTPPCoSbF6 allows the formation of poly(propylene carbonate). In this copolymerization, the latter catalyst acts as a PO activator, while OTPPCoCl functions as the initiator. In addition, density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal a lower ring-opening energy of PO by OTPPCoSbF6, compared with the usual propagating species, OTPPCo-alkoxides and OTPPCo-carbonates.

Functioning as active catalysts for propylene oxide (PO) and carbon dioxide copolymerization, cobalt(III)-based salen and porphyrin complexes have drawn great attention owing to their readily modifiable nature and promising catalytic behavior, such as high selectivity for the copolymer formation and good regioselectivity with respect to the polymer microstructure. Both cobalt(III)-salen and porphyrin catalysts have been found to undergo reduction reactions to their corresponding catalytically inactive cobalt(II) species in the presence of propylene oxide, as evidenced by UV/Vis and NMR spectroscopies and X-ray crystallography (for cobalt(II)-salen). Further investigations on a TPPCoCl (TPP = tetraphenylporphyrin) and NaOMe system reveal that such a catalyst reduction is attributed to the presence of alkoxide anions. Kinetic studies of the redox reaction of TPPCoCl with NaOMe suggests a pseudo-first order in cobalt(III)-porphyrin. The addition of a co-catalyst, namely bis(triphenylphosphine) iminium chloride (PPNCl), into the reaction system of cobalt(III)-salen/porphyrin and PO shows no direct stabilizing effect. However, the results of PO/CO2 copolymerization by cobalt(III)-salen/porphyrin with PPNCl suggest a suppressed catalyst reduction. This phenomenon is explained by a rapid transformation of the alkoxide into the carbonate chain end in the course of the polymer formation, greatly shortening the lifetime of the autoreducible PO-ring-opening intermediates, cobalt(III)-salen/porphyrin alkoxides.

Cobalt(III) tetraphenylporphyrin chloride (TPPCoCl) was experimentally proved to be an active catalyst for poly(propylene carbonate) production. It was chosen as a model catalyst in the present work to investigate the initiation step of propylene oxide (PO)/CO2 copolymerization, which is supposed to be the ring opening of the epoxide. Ring-opening intermediates (1-7) were detected by using (1) H NMR spectroscopy. A first-order reaction in TPPCoCl was determined. A combination of monometallic and bimetallic ring-opening pathways is proposed according to kinetics experiments. Addition of onium salts (e.g., bis(triphenylphosphine)iminium chloride, PPNCl) efficiently promoted the PO ring-opening rate. The existence of axial ligand exchange in the cobalt porphyrin complex in the presence of onium salts was suggested by analyzing collected (1) H NMR spectra.

A series of cobalt(III) chloride porphyrin complexes of the general formula 5,10,15,20-tetra(p-alkoxy)phenylporphyrin cobalt chloride (4b-e) and the related 5,10,15,20-tetra(p-nitro)phenylporphyrin cobalt chloride (4f) are presented and their reactivity toward propylene oxide (PO)/CO2 coupling/copolymerization is explored. While the nitro-substituted complex (4f), in conjunction with an onium salt, shows moderate activity toward cyclization, the 4b-e/onium systems show superior copolymerization activity in comparison to tetraphenylporphyrin Co(III) chloride (4a) with high selectivity and conversion to poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC). A comprehensive copolymerization behavior study of the alkoxy-substituted porphyrin complexes 4b-e in terms of reaction temperature and CO2 pressure is presented. Complexes bearing longer alkoxy-substituents demonstrate the highest polymerization activity and molecular weights, however all substituted catalyst systems display a reduced tolerance to increased temperature with respect to PPC formation. Studies of the resulting polymer microstructures show excellent head-to-tail epoxide incorporation and near perfectly alternating poly(carbonate) character at lower polymerization temperatures.