Carrier-free silver carbonate catalysis: in situ conversion of low-concentration CO2 in air and actual exhaust gas to oxazolidinones

Abstract

The increasing concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere drives global climate change, and efficient methods for CO₂ utilisation are urgently needed. This study introduces a novel carrier-free catalytic approach using cost-effective Ag₂CO₃ to enable the in situ carboxylation of ultra-low-concentration CO₂ with propargylamine under ambient temperature and pressure conditions. This method efficiently produces oxazolidinone compounds, which hold significant industrial value. The catalytic system not only efficiently converts CO₂ at low concentrations ranging from 5 vol% to 35 vol% but also directly converts CO₂ present in air (0.04 vol%) into oxazolidinones, achieving maximum yields of up to 97%, and demonstrates good substrate applicability. A cyclic reaction device reduces CO₂ concentration in simulated gas from 15 vol% to 3 vol%, maintaining an average oxazolidinone yield of 92%.