Synergetic Catalysis of Bimetallic CuCo Nanocomposites for Selective Hydrogenation of Bioderived Esters

Abstract

Bimetallic catalysts based on nonprecious transition metals have attracted increasing attention because of their unique synergistic effects in catalytic reactions, but the understanding of the nature of synergistic effects and their roles in a specific hydrogenation reaction remains lacking. Herein, a series of bimetallic CuxCoy/Al2O3 (x/y = 5:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:5) nanocomposite catalysts were fabricated via the successive calcination and reductive activation process of layered double hydroxide precursors. Their catalytic performance in the selective hydrogenation of bioderived ethyl levulinate to 1,4-pentanediol (1,4-PeD) depended sensitively on the chemical composition of bimetallic CuCo catalysts. The optimal bimetallic Cu2Co1/Al2O3 catalyst exhibited markedly improved catalytic activity and selectivity compared to monometallic Cu/Al2O3, as confirmed by its lower apparent activation energy barrier of 65.1 kJ mol–1 of the rate-determining step and its high selectivity of 93% to 1,4-PeD. Detailed characterization analyses and intrinsic catalytic studies revealed that the presence of CoOx species in the bimetallic CuxCoy/Al2O3 catalysts enhanced the metallic Cu dispersion and H2 activation ability. More importantly, the strong electronic interaction at the interface of Cu and adjacent CoOx species modified the chemical states of Cu species to create proper surface Cu0/Cu+ distributions and, particularly, provided synergic catalysis sites of Cu and electron-deficient CoOx species, which was primarily responsible for the excellent catalytic performance of bimetallic CuCo catalysts. The bimetallic CuCo catalysts exhibited good stability in both batch and fixed-bed continuous flow reactions. Furthermore, present CuCo nanocomposite catalyst could be applied to the highly selective hydrogenation of other carboxylic esters and lactones to synthesize valuable C4, C5, and C6 diols.