Effect of acid-base characteristics of ZrO2-Y2O3 on catalytic properties in carboxylation of methanol

We have established that the calcination temperature for ZrO2-Y2O3 catalysts changes their acid-base spectrum, which determines the direction of the conversions in the mixture MeOH + CO2. For samples with predominance of acid sites, the major product is dimethyl ether. As the content of base sites increases, methyl formate is formed. Activity in dimethyl carbonate synthesis is exhibited only by samples in which the basicity is higher than the acidity or close to it.