Zn‐Doped CeO2 Nanorods: a Highly Efficient Heterogeneous Catalyst for the Direct Synthesis of Dimethyl Carbonate from CO2 and Methanol

Abstract The direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate from methanol and CO 2 is a green and sustainable processes. In this paper, a new type of Zn‐doped CeO 2 nanorods catalyst was successfully prepared by a facile hydrothermal process, and characterized by a combination of techniques including XRD, Raman, HRTEM, SEM, N 2 ‐sorption, CO 2 ‐TPD, NH 3 ‐TPD, XPS. The catalyst was employed as a catalyst for the synthesis of dimethyl carbonate from methanol and CO 2 . Catalytic results revealed that the Ce 1 Zn 0.1 O δ nanorods catalyst demonstrated superior catalytic activity, affording a high DMC yield of 24.2 mmol DMC /g cat , which compared favorably to other previously reported catalysts. According to the XPS and CO 2 ‐TPD measurements, in comparison with the pure CeO 2 nanorods, the surface oxygen vacancies and weak basic sites can be systemically enriched by introducing optimal amount of Zn dopants into CeO 2 to improve the catalytic activity for the reaction. This work establishes an efficient catalyst for the direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate from CO 2 and methanol.