The current challenges for the valorization of biomass derived products contribute to a growing interest for basic heterogeneous catalysis. Because of the complex connection between the catalytic performance of a basic heterogeneous catalyst and its deprotonating ability, a study of the parameters governing the reactivity of solids in model reactions of basicity and transesterification was undertaken. A reaction with slightly acidic reactants (in our case: an alkene) seems to be catalyzed only on active sites which can form strong interactions with Brønsted acids. These sites cannot be characterized by the interaction with CO2 as a basic probe, because we have found that the Lewis basicity scale and the Brønsted basicity scale are different. On the other hand, several parameters should be considered for reaction with stronger acids such as alcohols. For instance, in the catalysis of transesterification, active sites with an acidic behavior increase the catalytic performance of the solids. Furthermore, this study permitted us to reveal some general trends for the structure and the basic activity of magnesium oxide covered with OH group and carbonates. Four different kinds of adsorbed carbonates were identified, which led us to bring to light the formation of (110) planes after some pretreatments. These planes are very promising for the basic heterogeneous catalysis due to their enhanced activity.
