| Summary: | Dimethyl carbonate is an environmentally friendly molecule with increasing applications as reactant, solvent,and fuel additive. Oxidative carbonylation of methanol, with reactants in the gas phase and catalyzed by copperexchangedY zeolites, is a promising alternative route for dimethyl carbonate production. This work is focused on the improvement of the catalyst formulation and preparation methods. Catalysts were prepared using twomethodologies: solid-state ion exchange and liquid-ethanol ion exchange. Five different copper salts were used asprecursors and the NH4+ and Na+ forms of the Y zeolite as supports. The Na+ form of the Y zeolite removed the Brønsted acidity of the support and, therefore, the reaction rate of acid-catalyzed undesired dehydration anddecomposition reactions was reduced. The use of copper chloride salts as precursors was crucial to obtainsuitable catalysts for dimethyl carbonate formation. Among all the tested catalysts, those prepared using CuCl2 precursor and the Na-Y zeolite by the liquid-ethanol ion exchange method showed the best performance (0.72molDMC/molCu h). This catalyst exhibited the highest surface chloride content and Lewis acidity. This work was supported by the Asturian Government (contractGRUPIN AYUD/2021/50450, CRC Research Group). The authors wouldlike to acknowledge the technical support provided by Scientific andTechnical Services of the University of Oviedo and by IMDEA EnergyInstitute, especially the Thermochemical Processes Unit.
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