A recyclable deep eutectic solvent as dual medium for CO₂ capture and high-value propylene carbonate production

As global climate change intensifies, there is an urgent need to develop efficient and low-energy technologies for CO₂ capture and conversion. In this work, a highly active imidazolium-based deep eutectic solvent ([EMIM]I-MEA) catalyst was designed by tuning the ratio of hydrogen bond acceptor to donor. Systematic investigations were conducted on its performance in CO₂ capture, catalytic conversion to propylene carbonate, and the reaction kinetics of the system was also obtained. Results indicated that the deep eutectic solvent demonstrated excellent CO₂ capture capability. Under optimized conditions (25 °C, 1 bar, 20 mol% catalyst loading), the yield of propylene carbonate reached 80.66%, the reaction kinetics was obtained based on the time-dependent curve. The Recycling performance of [EMIM]I-MEA was tested and no significant loss of catalytic activity was observed after 5 recycling runs. This study provides a novel strategy for the efficient conversion of CO₂.