Zirconium Catalyst Grafted on Ceria‐Coated Silica for Transformation of Carbon Dioxide to Diethyl Carbonate

Abstract A heterogeneous zirconium catalyst was grafted on a ceria‐coated silica support, denoted as Zr(OEt) x /CeO 2 /SiO 2 . It exhibited higher catalytic activity compared to its homogeneous counterpart, Zr(OEt) 4 , in the conversion of carbon dioxide to diethyl carbonate using tetraethyl orthosilicate as a regenerable agent in the absence of any dehydrating agents under non‐protic conditions. We found that the ceria‐coated silica (CeO 2 /SiO 2 ) support not only improved the catalytic activity of Zr(OEt) 4 but also inhibited catalyst deactivation during catalyst recycling tests. Furthermore, we analyzed the surface of the Zr(OEt) x /CeO 2 /SiO 2 catalysts by FE‐SEM and EDX.