Efficient Synthesis of Cyclohexanol and Ethanol via the Hydrogenation of Acetic Acid‐Derived Cyclohexyl Acetate with the CuxAl1Mn2−x Catalysts

Abstract

AbstractThe hydrogenation of cyclohexyl acetate (CHA), derived from the esterification of acetic acid and cyclohexene, not only alleviates the overcapacity of acetic acid, but also produces value‐added cyclohexanol (CHOL) and ethanol at a low cost. Herein, we prepared Cu1Al1, Cu1Mn1 and CuxAl1Mn2−x catalysts via a deposition‐precipitation method for the hydrogenation of CHA to CHOL and ethanol. As a result, the ternary CuxAl1Mn2−x catalysts exhibited superior behaviors to Cu1Al1 and Cu1Mn1. To our delight, Cu1Al1Mn1 had a 95.0 % CHA conversion and 93.6 % selectivity to CHOL along with 97.6 % selectivity to ethanol in a batch reactor. Based on detailed characterization, the ternary CuxAl1Mn2−x catalysts possessed more uniformed dispersion of Cu particles, less aggregation and larger BET specific surface area than the binary catalysts. Furthermore, Cu1Al1Mn1 possessed the highest Cu0/(Cu0+Cu+) molar ratio, the highest (Mn2++Mn3+)/Mn4+ molar ratio and the most abundant surface oxygen vacancies, facilitating the adsorption and activation of CHA and hydrogen. In addition, Cu1Al1Mn1 had excellent stability (>500 h) in a fixed‐bed reactor.