Liquid-phase synthesis of methyl formate via heterogeneous carbonylation of methanol over a soluble copper nanocluster catalyst

Liquid-phase synthesis of methyl formate (MF) was achieved by green carbonylation of methanol with CO on a soluble copper nanocluster catalyst with high activities (e.g. 2.7–6.1 molMF molCu−1 h−1) and 100% MF selectivities under mild reaction conditions (353–443 K, 0.3–3.0 MPa CO), showing that the Cu nanoclusters can potentially replace the caustic catalysts of alkaline metal alkoxides (e.g. CH3ONa), required for the current carbonylation process in industry.