@article{Wang2025, 
author = {You Wang and Jiyun Ren and Qing Guo and Ke Ma and Wenjie Guo and Fangxian Cao and Sai Zhang},
title = {Spatially proximate In5 and In4+1···In4 on In2O3 enable efficient dimethyl carbonate synthesis from CO2 below 100 oC},
year = {2025},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {18},
number = {8},
pages = {94907553},
keywords = {dimethyl carbonate, CO2, In2O3, dual-active sites},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NR.2025.94907553},
doi = {10.26599/NR.2025.94907553},
abstract = {The low-temperature transformation of CO2 and CH3OH into dimethyl carbonate (DMC) represents a sustainable and low-carbon pathway for producing essential chemicals. An ideal energy-efficient catalysis necessitates a catalyst capable of facilitating interactions between the simultaneously activated CO2 and CH3OH. Herein, we designed the spatially proximate In5 and In4+1···ּIn4 sites on the In2O3 surface, enabling efficient DMC synthesis from CO2 and CH3OH below 100 °C. The In5 sites are responsible for CH3OH adsorption; while CO2 adsorbs on the In4+1···In4 pairs through interactions between its O atom with two In sites, as well as between the C atom and a lattice O atom. Furthermore, the spatial intimacy of In5 and In4+1···In4 sites, with a distance of ~ 4.7 Å, facilitate direct interaction between the adsorbed CO2 and CH3OH. By optimizing oxygen vacancies, porous In2O3 nanocubes with abundant dual-active sites achieved a DMC generation rate of 8.1 mmol·gcat−1·h−1 at 100 °C, significantly surpassing previously reported catalysts. These findings demonstrate a promising route for the energy-efficient DMC synthesis from CO2 and CH3OH.}
}