Hyper-Cross-Linked Porous Porphyrin Aluminum(III) Tetracarbonylcobaltate as a Highly Active Heterogeneous Bimetallic Catalyst for the Ring-Expansion Carbonylation of Epoxides

Development of an industrially viable catalyst for the ring-expansion carbonylation of epoxides remains challenging in the view of facile product separation and recyclability. Herein, we report a heterogenized porous porphyrin Al(III) tetracarbonylcobaltate bimetallic catalyst for the ring-expansion carbonylation of epoxides. The catalyst was synthesized using a hyper-cross-linking strategy involving methylene bridges introduced by the Friedel–Crafts reaction and incorporated with cobaltate anions. The catalyst effectively converts epoxides into the corresponding β-lactones with an excellent site time yield of 360 h–1, which is comparable to that of the corresponding homogeneous catalysts and is the highest of any heterogeneous catalyst reported so far for this reaction.