Synthesis and electrochemistry of schiff base cobalt(III) complexes and their catalytic activity for copolymerization of epoxide andcarbon dioxide

A series of cobalt complexes with N,N,O,O-tetradentate Schiff base ligands were employed as catalysts for the alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide and racemic propylene oxide. End group analysis of the resulting polymer provided strong evidence for a manomer insertion mechanism for the progation step, which indicated that the six-coordination arragement around the cobalt center was maintained during the catalytic cycle.