Metal-organic framework-derived base catalyst for conversion of dimethyl carbonate to glycerol carbonate

Glycerol carbonate (GLC) offers a range of benefits including biodegradability, versatility, and its potential for carbon capture and utilization. Base catalysts play a crucial role for GLC synthesis by facilitating the activation of reactants, enhancing nucleophilicity, accelerating reaction kinetics, and enabling catalyst regeneration. In this study, metal–organic framework (MOF) derived hybrid structure, CaO-MgO@Al₂O₃, was developed as a base catalyst to promote transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate (DMC) to form GLC. The results show that hydrothermal plus wet-impregnation routes formed the hybrid nanostructure with homogenously dispersed Ca, Mg and Al elements. Further, the synthesized catalysts showed significantly high specific surface area and basicity (2.656 mmol g⁻¹). High selectivity (>99 %) and high GLC yield (96.2 %; 208.9 mmol g-cat⁻¹) were achievable. This study demonstrated the rational design concept of MOF-derived hybrid structures used in the enhancement of base catalysis for transesterification of DMC to GLC, offering an effective solution with mild reaction conditions and high conversion.