Synthesis and characterization of ceria-supported catalysts for carbon dioxide transformation to diethyl carbonate.

Graphical abstract Preparation of 16 wt% CeO2 supported on TiO2, SiO2 and Al2O3 catalysts prepared using evaporation impregnation (evimp.) and deposition precipitation (dp.) and their testing in direct synthesis of diethylcarbonate from CO2 and ethanol using butylene oxide as the water trap. Highlights • Ceria—supported on Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 and TiO 2 catalysts were synthesized and characterized. • 16 wt% CeO 2 -SiO 2 catalyst exhibited the highest activity to diethylcarbonate. • High basicity is required for diethylcarbonate synthesis from CO 2 and ethanol. Abstract The support materials Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 and TiO 2 were modified with 16 wt% CeO 2 , using two different preparation methods evaporation-impregnation and precipitation-deposition. The synthesized 16 wt% CeO 2 -Al 2 O 3 , 16 wt% CeO 2 -SiO 2 and 16 wt% CeO 2 -TiO 2 materials were characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction for the phase purity, scanning electron microscopy for the morphology, nitrogen physisorption to determine the specific surface area and X-ray photo electron spectroscopy for the oxidation state of the Ce in the TiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 matrices. Transmission electron microscopy was used to study the particle size of CeO 2 whereas CO 2 -temperature programmed desorption (TPD) was used to determine the basicity of ceria-modified TiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 catalysts. Furthermore, the catalytic performance of the as prepared CeO 2 -modified catalysts were compared in the synthesis of diethyl carbonate starting from ethanol and CO 2 using butylene oxide as the dehydrating agent. The physico-chemical characterization results were correlated with the catalytic activity results and discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]