A boron-doped carbon aerogel-supported Cu catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate

Abstract

Carbon aerogels (CA) were applied in the synthesis of Cu/CA catalysts by the impregnation method and the catalysts with boron-doped CA supports were systematically characterized and evaluated in the hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate (DMO). The Cu/xB–CA catalyst with 25 wt% copper showed 100% DMO conversion and the highest ethylene glycol (EG) or methyl glycolate (MG) selectivity of 70% at 230 °C as well as a lifetime of over 150 h. The characterization results disclosed the reason the performance of the catalysts could be tuned facilely by changing the amount of boron doping, which effectively influenced the interrelation between copper and CA, acidity and alkalinity of catalysts and Cu dispersion. Both the original carbon aerogels and that promoted with little B could provide larger surface areas and high dispersion of the metal. The species, size of copper particles and the ratio of Cu⁺/(Cu⁺ + Cu⁰) could be regulated by boron doping, thus adjusting the type of hydrogenation products.