Lanthanum Oxide-catalyzed Transesterification of Dimethyl Carbonate with Glycerol: Effect of Surfactant

Three kinds of lanthanum oxides (La2O3) were synthesized from different methods and used as a catalyst in the transesterification of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) with glycerol for the synthesis of glycerol carbonate (GLC). Lanthanum oxide synthesized using a surfactant (S-La) showed a much higher GLC yield of 89.9% compared to other lanthanum oxides synthesized by calcination (C-La) and precipitation (P-La) at the reaction conditions of 90 degrees C, DMC/glycerol = 2, and catalyst/glycerol = 5 wt %. The best catalyst was obtained when the surfactant/La weight ratio was 12. XRD study revealed that S-La has large amount of monoclinic and hexagonal La2O2CO3 phases, which are assumed as active sites of the catalyst for the reaction.