Advancing dimethyl carbonate (DMC) : synthesis strategies, challenges, mechanisms, and applications

Dahiya, Surbhi (author), Giri, Anand (author), Shukla, Kartikeya (author), Kumar, Vimal (author), Srivastava, Vimal Chandra (author), Lavrenčič Štangar, Urška (author), Kumar, Praveen (author)

As the conventional resources mainly fossil fuels are depleting there is extensive ongoing research and technical strategy to find alternative fuel sources. These include green chemicals such as dimethyl ether, biodiesel, and other energy-based chemicals derived from biomass. Also, environmental concerns must be addressed using fuel additives due to the use of carbon-based fuels. The market for dimethyl carbonate (DMC), an eco-friendly (or “green”) industrial chemical is expected to increase from USD 1.96 billion in 2025 to USD 3.00 billion by 2030. Because of its great biodegradability, low toxicity and adaptability as a fuel additive, solvent and reagent, it is becoming increasingly valuable. DMC can be produced through several routes that include phosgenation, transesterification, direct synthesis route from methanol and carbon dioxide, methanolysis of urea, oxidative carbonylation of methanol, and decarbonization of dimethyl oxalate. DMC, a versatile compound, can be used for various applications in different fields as it is a highly oxygenated compound containing 53% oxygen content. It can be used as a solvent, fuel additive in lithium-ion batteries and precursor for value-added compounds. DMC being a biodegradable can be used in the methylation and carbonylation reactions as alternative to several toxic compounds such as phosgene. This study reviews various applications of DMC in various fields and the recent studies reported in these fields. It also presents various value-added products from DMC and their process developments. The properties of DMC as a fuel additive are also discussed. The paper also highlights the catalytic developments made to produce DMC in recent years.

• Language: English
• Keywords: dimethyl carbonate, carbon dioxide conversion, lithium-ion batteries, glycerol carbonate, fuel additive
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FKKT - Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 23 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 219, art. 113963
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-188125
• UDC: 620.1:547.493
• ISSN on article: 0022-3697
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpcs.2026.113963
• COBISS.SI-ID: 286074115
• Publication date in RUL: 18.09.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: The Journal of physics and chemistry of solids
• Shortened title: J. phys. chem. solids
• Publisher: Pergamon Press
• ISSN: 0022-3697
• COBISS.SI-ID: 25778944

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: dimetil karbonat, pretvorba ogljikovega dioksida, litij-ionske baterije, glicerol karbonat, dodatek gorivu