Hydrogenation of ethyl acetate to ethanol over bimetallic cu-zn/sio 2 catalysts prepared by means of coprecipitation

Abstract

A series of bimetallic Cu-Zn/SiO2 catalysts were prepared via thermal decomposition of the as-synthesized CuZn(OH)4(H 2SiO3)2•nH2O hydroxides precursors. This highly dispersed Cu-solid base catalyst is extremely effective for hydrogenation of ethyl acetate to ethanol. The reduction and oxidation features of the precursors prepared by coprecipitation method and catalysts were extensively investigated by TGA, XRD, TPR and N2-adsorption techniques. Catalytic activity by ethyl acetate hydrogenation of reaction temperatures between 120 and 300 oC, different catalyst calcination and reduction temperatures, different Cu/Zn loadings have been examined extensively. The relation between the performance for hydrogenation of ethyl acetate and the structure of the Cu-solid base catalysts with Zn loading were discussed. The detected conversion of ethyl acetate reached 81.6% with a 93.8% selectivity of ethanol. This investigation of the Cu-Zn/SiO2 catalyst provides a recently proposed pathway for ethyl acetate hydrogenation reaction to produce ethanol over Cusolid base catalysts.