Efficient synthesis of dimethyl carbonate via the transesterification of ethylene carbonate with methanol over MgO/NaY catalyst

MgO/NaY catalysts prepared via wet impregnation method have been investigated for the catalytic synthesis of dimethyl carbonate(DMC)by the methanol with ethylene carbonate(EC).Several techniques,including CO2-TPD,TEM,were applied to characterize the structure and basic properties of the as-synthesized catalysts.The effects of MgO loading amount,reaction temperature,reaction time,and the ratio of methanol to EC on the catalytic performance have been studied.The results demonstrated that the MgO-loading amount played an important role on the dispersion of MgO species and the basic property of catalysts.The best catalytic performance was obtained over the 12% MgO/NaY catalyst under 70 °C with a ratio of methanol to EC of 8∶1,affording a remarkable DMC yield of 89%.