Investigation on the deactivation cause of lead-zinc double oxide for the synthesis of diphenyl carbonate by transesterification

The deactivation cause of lead-zinc double oxide for synthesis of diphenyl carbonate (DPC) by transesterification of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) with phenol has been investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), infrared spectroscopy (IR), thermogravimetry analysis (TG), atomic absorption spectroscopy and elementary analysis are employed for the catalyst characterization. The results show that, the formation of Pb4O(OC6H5)6 through the reaction of phenol and lead species in the catalyst leads to the crystal phase change of active component and serious leaching of lead, which is the cause of the catalyst deactivation. In addition, the composition of the leached lead is ascertained to be a mixture of Pb4O(OC6H5)6 and PbO with the weight percentage of 62.7% and 37.3%, respectively.