Synthesis of Diphenyl Carbonate via Transesterification Catalyzed by HMS Mesoporous Molecular Sieves Containing Heteroelements

Abstract Heteroelements-containing mesoporous molecular sieves Me-HMS (Me = the incorporated metal) were prepared by the hydrothermal synthesis method and used for the synthesis of diphenyl carbonate (DPC) by transesterification between dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and phenol. Low angle X-ray diffraction patterns showed that all samples have typical of hexagonal phase structure. Among all tested Me-HMS samples, Ti-HMS exhibited the best catalytic performance, and the activity was closely related to the intra-framework Ti species content. When the molar ratio of Ti/Si in sol–gel reached 1/30, the amount of intra-framework Ti species in Ti-HMS was closed to saturation, and the maximum phenol conversion of 31.4% and the transesterification selectivity of 99.9% were obtained.