Simple preparation of MgO/g-C3N4 catalyst and its application for catalytic synthesis of dimethyl carbonate via transesterification

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was employed as a catalyst support to load MgO. The physicochemical properties of the supported catalyst (MgO/g-C3N4) were characterized using several characterization techniques, including XRD, FT-IR, SEM, XPS and CO2-TPD. The incorporation of MgO has effectively enhanced the overall basicity of g-C3N4. In the transesterification of ethylene carbonate (EC) with methanol to dimethyl carbonate (DMC), MgO/g-C3N4 catalysts demonstrated high catalytic activity and good recyclability, affording the maximum DMC yield of 70% at 140 °C. Moreover, the catalytic performance has also been compared with other reported heterogeneous catalysts.