Transesterification of dimethyl carbonate with tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol on the K2CO3/ZrO2 catalyst-Function of the surface carboxylate species

- Unsymmetrical tetrahydrofurfuryl carbonate was synthesized with high selectivity.
- The K2CO3/ZrO2 catalyst exhibited the best performance in transesterification.
- The surface carboxylate species rather than the basic sites were the active sites.
- The K2CO3 supported on other TiO2 and Al2O3 cannot produce the carboxylate species.