Short communicationEnhancement of the catalytic performance in Pd-Cu/NaY catalyst for carbonylation of methyl nitrite to dimethyl carbonate: Effects of copper doping

•The Pd-Cu/NaY catalysts with better performance were prepared for carbonylation of MN to DMC.•Appropriate amount of Cu species efficiently restricted the size of Pd species.•The oxidation state of Pd2 + could be held by through the reduction-oxidation cycle drove by Cu2 +.•The strength of Pd-CO towards the reaction cycle was tuned by the synergistic effect of Cu.

Doping copper in Pd/NaY catalyst has been developed for vapor-phase carbonylation of methyl nitrite (MN) to dimethyl carbonate (DMC). Different characterization methods were employed to investigate the role of Cu in the catalyst. The introduction of Cu2 + could effectively promote the dispersion of Pd species by shrinking the size of Pd species NPs, while the oxidation state of Pd could be maintained simultaneously for better selectivity. Furthermore, the strength of Pd-CO can be tuned by the amount of Cu, which is the most crucial problem towards the reaction cycle.

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