Direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate from carbon dioxide and methanol over Ce-BTC-derived CeO2

As one of the most important green chemicals, dimethyl carbonate (DMC) has wide application prospects in electrochemistry, fuel additive, solvent and building block in organic synthesis. The effective utilization of CO2 to synthesize DMC has been proved to be highly advantageous. In this study, a series of Ce-BTC MOF-derived nanorod CeO2 catalysts for the direct synthesis of DMC from CO2 and methanol were prepared via complexation reaction at room temperature and then thermal decomposition under different atmospheres. The calcination atmosphere had great influence on the structure and catalytic properties of obtained CeO2 catalysts. The CeO2 derived from calcination of Ce-BTC at 500 °C under H2 atmosphere exhibited higher specific surface area, oxygen vacancy concentration and CO2 adsorption capacity. And thus, its DMC yield was up to 6.332 mmol/gCeO2 within 4 h, much higher than that of commercial nano CeO2 and other as-prepared catalysts in absence of dehydrating agents.