Aluminum phthalocyanine complex was covalently bonded to the silica surface of mesoporous MCM-41 molecular sieve via two different routes. The resulting anchored complex was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption and UV-VIS spectroscopy, and used as catalyst for the cycloaddition of CO2 and epoxides to produce cyclic carbonates. Its catalytic activity can be markedly enhanced in the presence of a quaternary ammonium salt, such as n-Bu4NBr. The catalyst exhibits good stability as well as high catalytic activity in reaction conditions, and was subjected to utilization for 10 recycles without obvious loss of activity. The catalytic mechanism of the anchored aluminum phthalocyanine complex, combined with n-Bu4NBr as co-catalyst, for ring-opening of epoxides and activation of CO2 are also discussed in detail. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.