Rare earth-doped calcium-based magnetic catalysts for transesterification of glycerol to glycerol carbonate

Several rare earth-doped, calcium-based magnetic catalysts were prepared for the synthesis of glycerol carbonate. The basicity and basic strength analysis of the catalysts showed that the doping of rare earth improved the basicity of the catalysts, and the doping of lanthanum maximized it. In addition, with the doping of lanthanum, the particle size of the catalyst became smaller to promote the organic reactants near the active sites of catalysts, thereby effectively improving the performance. NiFe2O4@[CaO-La2O3] shows better catalytic performance with 99.0% yield of glycerol carbonate compared to the other catalysts. The NiFe2O4@(CaO-La2O3) could be reused in six cycles without significant loss in activity.