Abstract: The direct synthesis of green and environmentally-friendly intermediate dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from CO₂ and methanol not only meets the needs of green chemical development, but also makes the utilization of CO₂ as a resource. In order to turn the research scope to industrialization, the development of high-efficiency catalysts is the focus of DMC in the future. The research progress of DMC catalysts for direct synthesis of CO₂ and methanol was reviewed, and the reactivities of different types of catalysts were introduced, mainly including metal carbonate, metal oxide catalyst, supported catalyst, metal complex catalyst, ionic liquid catalyst, and electrosynthesis catalyst, which would provide a reference for the direct and efficient synthesis of DMC.

Key words: CO₂, methanol, dimethyl carbonate, catalyst