Boron Modified Bifunctional Cu/SiO<sub>2</sub> Catalysts with Enhanced Metal Dispersion and Surface Acid Sites for Selective Hydrogenation of Dimethyl Oxalate to Ethylene Glycol and Ethanol
Deliang Yang,
Runping Ye,
Ling Lin,
Rong Guo,
Peiyu Zhao,
Yanchao Yin,
Wei Cheng,
Wenpeng Yuan,
Yuangen Yao
Affiliations
Deliang Yang
Biological Engineering Technology Innovation Center of Shandong Province, Heze Branch of Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Heze 274000, China
Runping Ye
Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Environment and Energy Catalysis, Institute of Applied Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
Ling Lin
Key Laboratory of Coal to Ethylene Glycol and Its Related Technology, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Rong Guo
Key Laboratory of Coal to Ethylene Glycol and Its Related Technology, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Peiyu Zhao
Biological Engineering Technology Innovation Center of Shandong Province, Heze Branch of Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Heze 274000, China
Yanchao Yin
Biological Engineering Technology Innovation Center of Shandong Province, Heze Branch of Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Heze 274000, China
Wei Cheng
Biological Engineering Technology Innovation Center of Shandong Province, Heze Branch of Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Heze 274000, China
Wenpeng Yuan
Biological Engineering Technology Innovation Center of Shandong Province, Heze Branch of Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Heze 274000, China
Yuangen Yao
Key Laboratory of Coal to Ethylene Glycol and Its Related Technology, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Boron (B) promoter modified Cu/SiO2 bifunctional catalysts were synthesized by sol-gel method and used to produce ethylene glycol (EG) and ethanol (EtOH) through efficient hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate (DMO). Experimental results showed that boron promoter could significantly improve the catalytic performance by improving the structural characteristics of the Cu/SiO2 catalysts. The optimized 2B-Cu/SiO2 catalyst exhibited excellent low temperature catalytic activity and long-term stability, maintaining the average EG selectivity (Sel.EG) of 95% at 190 °C, and maintaining the average EtOH selectivity (Sel.EtOH) of 88% at 260 °C, with no decrease even after reaction of 150 h, respectively. Characterization results revealed that doping with boron promoter could significantly increase the copper dispersion, enhance the metal-support interaction, maintain suitable Cu+/(Cu+ + Cu0) ratio, and diminish metallic copper particles during the hydrogenation of DMO. Thus, this work introduced a bifunctional boron promoter, which could not only improve the copper dispersion, reduce the formation of bulk copper oxide, but also properly enhance the acidity of the sample surface, so that the Cu/SiO2 sample could exhibit superior EG selectivity at low temperature, as well as improving the EtOH selectivity at high temperature.
