Selective hydrogenation of benzene to cyclohexene on Ru-based catalysts promoted with Mn and Zn

Ru-based catalysts promoted with Mn and Zn were prepared by a co-precipitation method. In liquid-phase hydrogenation of benzene, the Ru-Mn-Zn catalysts exhibited superior catalytic performance to the catalysts promoted with Zn or Mn alone. The optimum Mn/Zn molar ratio was determined to be 0.3. With the addition of 0.5 g NaOH, the Ru-Mn-Zn-0.3 catalyst, which was reduced at 150 °C, afforded a cyclohexene selectivity of 81.1% at a benzene conversion of 60.2% at 5 min and a maximum cyclohexene yield of 59.9% at 20 min. Based on characterizations, the excellent performance of Ru-Mn-Zn catalyst was ascribed to the suitable pore structure, the appropriate reducibility and the homogenous chemical environment of the catalyst.