Technical development for "carbon recycling," in which CO₂ is collected and reused as a carbon resource to produce various useful products, is considered important to greatly reduce CO₂ emissions associated with the use of fossil fuels. In the "Roadmap for Carbon Recycling Technologies" formulated by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy on June 7, 2019, "oxygenated compounds (compounds containing oxygen atoms)" as raw materials for urethane and polycarbonate are assumed as examples of use of CO₂ in chemical products.

A study of a reaction using CO₂ and alcohol as raw materials has been reported as a technology for synthesizing an oxygenated compound used as a raw material for polycarbonate and polyurethane from CO₂. However, there are issues with the production efficiency of the target substance and the life of the catalyst used for the reaction, and a technology that can realize lower manufacturing process costs is demanded for practical application.

The researchers, in collaboration with Tosoh Corporation, have developed a catalyst technology that efficiently synthesizes diethyl carbonate, which is a raw material for polycarbonate and polyurethane, using CO₂ and a silicon compound as raw materials.

A new catalytic reaction was discovered that produces diethyl carbonate using CO₂ and a silicon compound (tetraethoxysilane) as raw materials. This reaction does not produce water as a by-product, so the catalyst life was extended and high reaction efficiency was achieved. Practical application of the developed technology is expected to contribute to a carbon recycling society that reuses CO₂ as a carbon resource.