Effect of promoters on hydrogenation of diethyl malonate to 1,3-propanediol over nano copper-based catalysts

•1,3-propanediol could be synthesized from the hydrogenation of diethyl malonate over Cu/SiO2 catalysts.•Copper-based catalysts with different promoters were prepared via ammonia evaporation co-precipitation method.•Boron as promoter shows superior catalytic performance.•More Cu0 formed with the inhibition of copper phyllosilicate and copper species dispersed well.

Copper-based catalysts were prepared via ammonia evaporation co-precipitation method. Structure evolutions of the catalysts were systematically characterized by XRD, FTIR, TG, SEM, N2-physisorption, ICP-AES, N2O chemisorption and XPS focusing on the influence of promoters on the catalytic behavior in the hydrogenation of diethyl malonate to 1,3-propanediol. The results showed that diethyl malonate conversion and 1,3-propanediol selectivity could reach 96.71% and 29.76% respectively at 473 K with 2.0 MPa and 1.8 h− 1 with boron as promoter. The improved catalytic performance of Cu-B/SiO2 catalyst could be attributed to more Cu0 formed with the inhibition of copper phyllosilicate and better dispersion of copper species.