Bifunctional molybdenum phosphate catalyst with tunable acidity–basicity for the sustainable synthesis of glycerol carbonate via solvent‐free carbonylation of glycerol with urea

Tuning the surface acidity–basicity via molecular level control of the chemical composition of the catalyst is one of the thrust areas of research. Herein, we first report a bifunctional molybdenum phosphate catalyst with tunable acidity–basicity for the sustainable synthesis of glycerol carbonate involving glycerol and urea. The catalyst has been thoroughly characterized by using powder X‐ray diffraction, Fourier‐transform infrared, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N 2 physisorption, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, temperature programmed desorption (TPD), Py‐IR, 31 P nuclear magnetic resonance and thermogravimetric analysis. It has been observed that the physicochemical properties of the catalysts changed considerably by varying the metal and phosphorus concentrations. The molybdenum phosphate catalyst with Mo/P molar ratio = 1:3 was found most active, having the highest acidity to basicity ratio. Interestingly, the reason could be associated to the presence of higher Brønsted acidity, as evidenced from the TPD and Py‐IR results. The physicochemical properties of the used catalyst suggest it as a stable and reusable catalyst. A study on operating parameters was carried out to optimize catalytic performance to obtain glycerol conversion up to 95% at a glycerol carbonate selectivity of 99%. This remarkable catalytic performance could be attributed to the bifunctional nature of the catalyst.