Ultrasonically assisted surface modified CeO nanospindle catalysts for conversion of CO and methanol to DMC.

This study developed a facile and effective approach to engineer the surface properties of cerium oxide (CeO) nanospindle catalysts for the direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from CO and methanol. CeO nanospindles were first prepared by a simple precipitation method followed by wet chemical redox etching with sodium borohydride (NaBH) under high intensity ultrasonication (ultrasonic horn, 20 kHz, 150 W/cm). The ultrasonically assisted surface modification of the CeO nanospindles in NaBH led to particle collisions and surface reduction that resulted in an increase in the number of surface-active sites of exposed Ce and oxygen vacancies. The surface modified CeO nanospindles showed an improvement of catalytic activity for DMC formation, yielding 17.90 mmol·g with 100 % DMC selectivity. This study offers a simple and effective method to modify a CeO surface, and it can further be applied for other chemical activities.