Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, Ltd.

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Arco Chemical Company

Beatrice K Stein

Andrzej Rokicki

Hideshi Kawachi

Stephen Andrew Motika

Shuji Minami

Timothy L Pickering

John N Armor

Zinc carboxylate catalysts for the copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxides are prepared by the reaction of zinc oxide with glutaric or adipic acid in an aprotic reaction solvent. Azeotropic distillation may be used to separate the water-solvent phase from the reaction mixture, or the catalyst may be separated from the reaction mixture by filtration and drying, generally without the need for repeated washings to remove active hydrogen atom sources. Examples of aprotic reaction solvents are toluene, dibutyl ether, anisole and ethyl benzoate.

Catalyst for the copolymerization of epoxides with CO.sub.2

According to the present invention, a zinc-containing solid catalyst prepared by contacting zinc oxide with an organic dicarboxylic acid in the presence of or in the absence of an organic solvent under a mechanical pulverization treatment is provided. The catalyst is in a good pulverized state and exhibits a high catalytic activity for polymerization of carbon dioxide with an epoxide to obtain a polyalkylene carbonate.

Zinc-containing solid catalyst, process of preparing same and process

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Fogelsville, PA, United States of America

Beatrice K Stein