Abstract A kind of heterogeneous catalyst MCM-41-ImBr was prepared by grafting imidazolium-based ionic liquids on the surface of MCM-41. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and elemental analysis (EA), and was used to catalyze the cycloaddition reaction of CO2 with epichlorohydrin (ECH). The cycloaddition reaction results under different reaction conditions and the stability of catalyst reuse were investigated. The characterization results showed that the ionic liquids were successfully grafted on MCM-41 with intact mesoporous structure and the loading of ionic liquids was 53.6 mmol/g. Moreover, the catalyst exhibited high catalytic activity for catalyzing CO2 into cyclic carbonates due to the synergistic effect of the imidazole ring and Br?. The conversion of ECH and the selectivity of cyclic carbonate was 100.0% and 98.2% respectively, under the conditions of CO2 pressure of 0.7 MPa, reaction temperature of 150 ℃, reaction time of 4 h, catalyst dosage of 0.10 g and without co-catalyst. The approximate apparent rate constant of first order reaction with respect to ECH was 1.40 h-1 when CO2 was excessive and the reaction temperature was 150 ℃, and the catalyst could be used at least 3 times.
