Palladium nanoparticles embedded over mesoporous TiO 2 for chemical fixation of CO 2 under atmospheric pressure and solvent-free conditions

CO 2 fixation reactions are very demanding both from the perspective of mitigation of greenhouse gases as well as the successful utilization of this abundant C1 source. An efficient and recyclable catalytic system based on palladium nanoparticles embedded on mesoporous TiO 2 (Pd@MTiO 2 ) has been developed and it is explored as a heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from the respective epoxides and CO 2 under atmospheric pressure and at room temperature. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra (UV-vis), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and N 2 sorption studies are used to characterize this Pd@MTiO 2 material. Moreover, the catalytic reaction is green as the reaction involves the consumption of greenhouse gas CO 2 and the reaction proceeds smoothly without any need for a solvent. High catalytic activity, ease of catalyst recovery from the reaction mixture and excellent recycling efficiency without any significant loss in catalytic performance suggested an environmentally benign catalytic pathway for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates over this Pd-nanocatalyst.