Carbon dioxide conversion to dimethyl carbonate: The effect of silica as support for SnO2 and ZrO2 catalysts

International audience; Abundant in nature, CO2 poses few health hazards and consequently is a promising alternative to phosgene feedstock according with the principles of Green Chemistry and Engineering. The synthesis organic carbonates from CO2 instead of phosgene is highly challenging as CO2 is much less reactive. As part of our ongoing research on the investigation of catalysts for dimethyl carbonate (DMC) synthesis from methanol and CO2, we herein report results aimed at comparing the catalytic behavior of new SnO2-based catalysts with that of ZrO2. Silica-supported SnO2 and ZrO2 exhibit turnover numbers which are an order of magnitude higher than those of the unsupported oxides. Tin-b…