Mechanistic investigations on dimethyl carbonate formation by oxidative carbonylation of methanol over a CuY zeolite: an operandoSSITKA/DRIFTS/MS study

The simultaneous combination of steady state isotopic transient kinetic analysis (SSITKA) with diffuse reflectance Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and mass spectrometric (MS) analysis was applied to study the oxidative carbonylation of methanol (MeOH) to dimethyl carbonate (DMC) on a CuY zeolite catalyst prepared by incipient-wetness impregnation of commercial zeolite NH4–Y. The interaction of the catalyst with different reactants and reactant mixtures (O2, CO, CO/O2, MeOH/O2, MeOH/CO, and MeOH/CO/O2) was studied in detail using 16O2/18O2 as well as 12CO/13CO containing gas mixtures. DMC is produced via a monodentate monomethyl carbonate (MMC) species as intermediate which is formed by the concerted action of adsorbed methoxide and CO with gas phase MeOH. Adsorbed bidentate MMC species were found to be inactive. Lattice oxygen supplied by CuOx species is involved in the formation of MMC. Gas phase oxygen is needed to re-oxidize the catalyst but favours also the oxidation of CO to CO2 and unselective oxidation reactions of MeOH to methyl formate, dimethoxymethane, and CO2. The appropriate choice of reaction temperature and of the oxygen content in the reactant gas mixture was found to be indispensable for reaching high DMC selectivities.