Concurrent synthesis of dimethyl carbonate and ethylene glycol via transesterification of ethylene carbonate and methanol using smectite catalysts containing Mg and/or Ni

Smectites containing magnesium and/or nickel in the lattice were found to be excellent heterogeneous catalyst for the concurrent synthesis of dimethyl carbonate and ethylene glycol by transesterification of ethylene carbonate with methanol. The catalytic activity strongly depends on the elemental composition of the catalysts and is correlated with the number of moderately basic sites present on the catalyst.