Ga-doped CeO2 nanorods as highly active catalysts for the synthesis of dimethyl carbonate from CO2 and methanol

In this work, the effect of Ga as dopant on CeO2 was examined in the direct synthesis of DMC from CO2 and methanol. We prepared a series of Ga-doped CeO2 nanorod catalysts (GaxCe) with different Ga/Ce molar ratio. The physicochemical properties of all samples were studied in detail by combining XRD, Raman, FT-IR, XPS, H2-TPR, TEM, N2 sorption, NH3-TPD and CO2-TPD techniques. For Ga0.2Ce catalysts, the yield of DMC was as high as 19.6 mmolDMC/gcat in the synthesis of dimethyl carbonate from CO2 and methanol, outperforming most reported catalysts, especially at a short time of 2 h. The characteristic results suggested that doping of Ga leading to more oxygen vacancies and enhanced surface acidity and basicity, which facilitated the chemisorption and activation of CO2 and methanol, and further promoted the catalytic activity in CO2-to-DMC transformation. This work provides a high-efficient catalyst for the direct synthesis of DMC from CO2 and methanol.