Mechanism study on direct synthesis of glycerol carbonate from CO_(2)and glycerol over shaped CeO_(2)model catalysts

Direct synthesis of glycerol carbonate(GC)from CO_(2)and glycerol(a byproduct of biodiesel production)is a route to obtain a high-value chemical from waste and low-cost byproducts but has not yet industrialized due to the lack of efficient catalysts.Ceria(CeO_(2))exhibits the highest catalytic activity and GC selectivity among the heterogeneous catalysts studied so far.However,the mechanism of this reaction over CeO_(2)catalysts has not been studied in detail.Herein,we synthesized CeO_(2)nanocrystals with different morphologies as model catalysts that can predominantly expose(111),(110),and(100)facets,and their surface acid-base properties were characterized using high-sensitivity temperature-programmed desorption of NH3 and CO_(2)with quadrupole mass spectrometry as detector(NH3-TPD-QMS and CO_(2)-TPD-QMS).We found that the catalytic performance(GC formation rate)is strictly linearly dependent on the density of basic sites,which is relevant to the adsorption and activation of CO_(2).In addition,to illustrate a more microscopic reaction mechanisms underlying the formation of GC from CO_(2)and glycerol on all three low-index surfaces(111),(110)and(100),we also performed comprehensive first principles calculations.A three-step Langmuir-Hinshelwood(LH)mechanism was identified in which the annulation reaction is the rate-limiting step.The CeO_(2)(11)surface exhibits the lowest overall activation energy,which agrees well with the catalytic performance that the CeO_(2)nano-octahedra,predominantly exposing(111)facets,have the highest GC formation rate.This work is the first to combine experiments on shaped CeO_(2)model catalysts with first-principles calculations to gain insight into the mechanism of direct synthesis of GC from CO_(2)and glycerol,and will aid in the development of catalysts with improved performance.