Sodium Methoxide Catalysed One-Pot Glycidol Synthesis via Trans-Esterification between Glycerol and Dimethyl Carbonate

In this work we demonstrate one-pot glycidol synthesis, via trans-esterification between glycerol and dimethyl carbonate, by making use of commercially available sodium methoxide as a catalyst. An excellent conversion (99%) remarkable yield (75%) was obtained using carbonate/glycerol (molar ratio 2:1) in the presence 3 wt% catalyst amount (with respect to weight) at 85 °C for reaction time 120 min. Sodium recycled reused twice with only slight decrease conversion. The water content reached 2.5 wt%; did not reduce efficiency A plausible mechanism involved preparation proposed.