Decomposition-Induced Preparation of High-Surface-Area Nb2O5 Materials for Catalytic Transesterification of Ethylene Carbonate to Dimethyl Carbonate
摘要
Dimethyl carbonate is a building block in modern chemical synthesis and battery industry. The catalytic transesterification of ethylene carbonate and methanol is a sustainable route for the clean synthesis of dimethyl carbonate. In order to improve the catalytic activity of Nb2O5 materials, a one-pot decomposition-induced preparation approach for high-surface-area Nb2O5 was developed. By incorporation of dicyandiamide and adjustment of calcination temperatures, Nb2O5 materials with various surface areas (47–143 m2·g− 1) were prepared. Compared with the traditional decomposition method, the synthesized Nb2O5-CN materials possessed larger surface areas and higher quantities of acidic sites. As heterogeneous catalysts, the Nb2O5-CN materials demonstrated high activity in the transesterification of EC to DMC. Under the reaction conditions of 140 °C and 4 h, the conversion of EC and the selectivity of DMC reached up to 63.6% and 100%, respectively.
Graphical abstract