Fixing carbon dioxide as a polymer material is an effective and environmentally beneficial approach for reducing the harm of CO2 greenhouse gas. In this paper, carbon dioxide and cyclohexene oxide were used as co-monomers, and a chiral binuclear cobalt complex with a biphenyl linker was employed as the catalyst to successfully prepare a poly(cyclohexenylene carbonate) with high stereoregularity. The influence of catalyst structure, CO2 pressure, and operating temperature on the copolymerization rate and polymer structure were systematically investigated. Optimal catalyst structure and operating conditions were determined, resulting in an excellent poly(cyclohexenylene carbonate) with a stereoregularity as high as 93.5%. Performance testing revealed that the polyester had a molecular weight of approximately 20 kg/mol, a glass transition temperature of 129.7 °C, an onset decomposition temperature of 290 °C, and a tensile strength of 42.8 MPa. These results demonstrate high thermal stability and mechanical strength, indicating the potential for expanding the applications of aliphatic polycarbonate materials.
Keywords: asymmetric copolymerization; carbon dioxide; cyclohexene oxide; dinuclear cobalt complex; poly(cyclohexenylene carbonate).