Zn-Doped CeO2 Nanorods for Glycerol Carbonylation with CO2

The chemical industry is facing a major challenge in the design of heterogeneous catalysts for CO 2 activation and valorization. The modification of CeO 2 nanorods with divalent transition metal ions (M = Zn, Cu, and Ni) resulted in the enhancement of oxygen vacancies, which improved the activation of CO 2 . The results revealed that based on the electronic properties of dopants and their coordination with the support, the nature of active sites can be tuned on the surface of the catalyst. Zn-doped CeO 2 nanorods exhibited significantly higher activity for glycerol carbonate synthesis as Zn enhances the surface reducibility of Ce 4+ . 2-cyanopyridine (dehydrating agent) reacts with water to give 2-picolinamide, which influences the conversion of glycerol. The catalysts were characterized extensively by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, N 2 -sorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, H 2 -temperature programmed reduction, Raman spectroscopy, and NH 3 –CO 2 temperature programmed desorption techniques. Under optimized conditions; 90.4% glycerol conversion and 89.5% yield towards glycerol carbonate were achieved.