Performance enhancement of Cu/SiO2 catalyst for hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate to ethylene glycol through zinc incorporation

CuO-ZnO/SiO2 catalysts with various Zn/Cu molar ratios were prepared by precipitation and characterized by XRD, H2-TPR, TEM, XAES and catalytic performance for hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate. Characterizations revealed that suitable zinc incorporation resulted in higher Cu+ content on the surface of catalysts, better dispersion of Cu0 particles and better sintering resistance. Cu0.8Zn0.2/SiO2 exhibited the best activity and sintering resistance with 99.5% DMO conversion and 91.5%selectivity to ethylene glycol, after deactivation treatment (T = 400 °C, H2 atmosphere, 2.0 h), the catalyst maintained its activity with DMO conversion of 99.0%, while selectivity to ethylene glycol increased to 95.2%.