Surface Structure and Catalytic Performance of CuCl/SiO2-Al2O3 Catalysts for Methanol Oxidative Carbonylation

Aluminum was doped into amorphous silica gel to modify its surface structure. The obtained SiO₂-Al₂O₃ support was used to prepare the CuCl/SiO₂-Al₂O₃ catalyst by solid-state ion exchange, and the catalyst activity for liquid-phase oxidative carbonylation of methanol to dimethyl carbonate was investigated. The results showed that the prepared SiO₂-Al₂O₃ support kept the amorphous structure of the silica gel. The BET specific surface area of the silica gel was decreased to 200 m²/g, and the surface acid sites (including Brønsted acid sites) were increased. In the CuCl/SiO₂-Al₂O₃ catalyst, CuCl was not only dispersed on surface but also was ion exchanged with surface Brønsted acid sites of the SiO₂-Al₂O₃ support to form Cu⁺ species, which resulted in a decrease in BET specific surface area to 148 m²/g. These two kinds of Cu⁺ species on the catalyst surface were both active centers for the oxidative carbonylation of methanol to dimethyl carbonate. When the catalyst was prepared with Si/Al molar ratio of 5 and was calcined at 500 °C, the selectivity and space-time yield of dimethyl carbonate reached 74% and 1.27 g/(g·h), respectively.