Hydrogenolysis of glycerol to glycols over ruthenium catalysts: Effect of support and catalyst reduction temperature

The effect of support and catalyst reduction temperature on the catalytic performance of ruthenium catalysts in the hydrogenolysis of glycerol was studied. The support material can influence the metal particle size and the reaction routes. The reaction activity decreases with increasing catalyst reduction temperature, which is attributed to two reasons: (1) the growth in Ru particle size caused by heating treatment; (2) the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI), which results in partially covering of Ru metal particles by Ti2O3 species. The covering phenomenon can influence the reaction routes of the hydrogenolysis reaction, and consequently influence the product selectivity.