  The robust valorization of carbon dioxide (CO2) stays at the center of
sustainable development. Since CO2 represents a low-energy compound, its
transformation into commercially coveted products is cumbersome. In the present
work, we report a revolutionary method to obtain dimethyl carbonate (DMC) out
of methanol (CH3OH) and CO2 catalyzed by sodium chloride (NaCl) and similar
inorganic salts. The computational exploration revealed a mechanism of
favorable catalysis, which was subsequently confirmed experimentally. Unlike
all competitive syntheses of DMC, the new one does not produce water and,
therefore, the hydrolysis of a carbonate does not occur. No dehydrating agents
are necessary. The employed catalyst is cheap and permanently exists in the
same phase with the reactants and products. The action of NaCl was compared to
those of other alkali metal salts, LiI, LiCl, and KI, and competitive
performances were recorded. The experimentally obtained result outperforms most
competing technologies according to the DMC yield, 19% with molecular sieves
and 17% without molecular sieves. All existing competitors are excelled by the
simplicity and cleanness of the synthesis. The reported advance substantially
simplifies the synthesis of linear organic carbonates and robustly valorizes
CO2. Keywords: Dimethyl carbonate; carbon dioxide utilization; sodium chloride;
methanol.
