Progress on catalyst development for direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate from CO2 and methanol

The reaction of carbon dioxide transformation is tremendously interesting in research societies from the viewpoint of carbon resource and also to resolve the environmental problem of carbon dioxide emission. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a suitable C1 feedstock which can be converted into a number of valuable fine chemicals. The utilization of CO2 not only helps to reduce the carbon emission but should also lead to economic benefits, if CO2 is converted into chemicals for which there are significant demands or have a high added value. The reaction of CO2 with methanol is one of the pathways to directly synthesize dimethyl carbonate. However, the catalyst is a key factor in the reaction development. Herein, in this review, the focus is made on materials for the catalyzed reaction for the direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from CO2 and methanol. The developed catalysts (homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts) used so far are discussed, together with the respective operating conditions to obtain the optimum catalyst performance. Interesting ideas to allow the direct synthesis of carbonate products from CO2 with methanol using developed novel catalysts with high performance and efficiency for the economy are offered in this review.

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