20.500.12556/RUL-188610 Design of bifunctional Ce-Zn mixed metal oxide catalysts for sustainable and phosgene-free production of propylene carbonate via urea alcoholysis Propylene carbonate (PC) is a high-value cyclic carbonate that has become more and more essential in green solvents, polymer processing, gas purification, pharmaceutical intermediates, and lithium-ion battery electrolytes. In this work, we have developed a sustainable and phosgene-free synthesis of PC via the alcoholysis of urea with propylene glycol (PG) using Cesingle bondZn mixed metal oxide catalysts. This approach combines the use of inexpensive and less sensitive substrates with the potential of extracting ammonia as a by-product, providing an interesting alternative to present-day PC production methods. A series of Ce$_x$-Zn$_{(1-x)}$ mixed oxide catalysts with varied Ce/Zn molar ratios were prepared by the co-precipitation method and thoroughly tested for their catalytic performance. The optimal conditions were 170 °C, 4 h, 5 wt% catalyst loading, and a PG/urea molar ratio of 1.5. Further, the effect of various reaction parameters was studied to understand the reaction behavior. In brief, this work demonstrates Cesingle bondZn mixed metal oxides as promising catalysts for the greener and sustainable synthesis of propylene carbonate via the urea alcoholysis process. propylene carbonate urea alcoholysis mixed metal oxides sustainable catalysis cyclic carbonates bifunctional catalysis propilen karbonat alkoholiza sečnine mešani kovinski oksidi trajnostna kataliza ciklični karbonati bifunkcionalna kataliza true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-09-24 12:47:10 2026-09-24 12:47:11 2026-09-25 04:28:29 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 13 str. pt. 1, art.117570 Vol. 194 Dec. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 546.3-31:544.47 1387-7003 10.1016/j.inoche.2026.117570 292175107 RAZ_Joshi_Pranav_2026.pdf RAZ_Joshi_Pranav_2026.pdf 1 0A9307302D1F0D211B0CE4E656CFE123 11f5d444a3582d135405ae5216f6d501584787e6f72a525950459eb1c82e2c73 b7ed8479-b805-11f1-8bc5-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=248894 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1387700326014401 1 3adfe1fb-b805-11f1-8bc5-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=248892 Fakulteta za kemijo in kemijsko tehnologijo 0 0 0