Diphenyl carbonate (DPC) was synthesized from phenol and dense phase CO 2 in the presence of CCl 4 and K 2 CO 3 using different catalysts of ZnCl 2 , ZnBr 2 , Lewis acid ionic liquids including 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMIMCl) and bromide (BMIMBr). It was found that K 2 CO 3 was not required, ZnCl 2 and ZnBr 2 were similar in the catalytic performance, and the use of BMIMCl and BMIMBr was not effective for the production of DPC. For the reactions with ZnCl 2 in CCl 4 , the effects of such reaction variables as temperature, CO 2 pressure, the amount of ZnCl 2 , and the volume of CCl 4 were studied in detail. It was shown that the pressure was less influential while a larger amount of ZnCl 2 , a smaller volume of CCl 4 , and a low temperature of around 100°C were beneficial for the synthesis of DPC. On the basis of the results obtained, possible reaction mechanisms were discussed.