Selective and high yield synthesis of dimethyl carbonate directly from carbon dioxide and methanol

Supercritical carbon dioxide is efficiently converted to dimethyl carbonate (DMC) via the reaction with methanol in the presence of a catalytic amount of dialkyltin oxide or its derivatives. The removal of water is the key to accomplishing the high conversion by shifting the equilibrium to dimethyl carbonate. Dehydration is successfully carried out by circulating the reaction mixture through a dehydrating tube packed with molecular sieve 3A. Under the effective dehydration conditions, the DMC yield is almost linearly dependent on the reaction time, catalyst amount, methanol concentration, and CO2 pressure.