Synthesis and characterization of Ce-La oxides for the formation of dimethyl carbonate by transesterification of propylene carbonate

A series of cerium-lanthanum catalysts prepared using the co-precipitation method were investigated for transesterification of propylene carbonate (PC) with methanol to produce dimethyl carbonate (DMC). Synthesized catalysts were characterized by XRD, CO2- and NH3-TPD, N-2 adsorption/desorption and SEM-EDX techniques. Studies were carried out to study the effect of reaction conditions such as methanol/PC molar ratio (4-12), catalyst dose (2-10 wt.% of PC), reaction time (2-10 h) and temperature (140-180 degrees C) on the DMC yield. Highest PC conversion and DMC yield of 72% and 74%, respectively, were observed with catalysts having a 1:4 Ce/La molar ratio. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.