Effect of organic additives on partial hydrogenation of benzene

A new RuCoB/γ-Al2O3 catalyst was prepared by reduction impregnation method and was used for the partial hydrogenation of benzene. Its composition and structure were determined by ICP, XRD, and XPS. The performance of the catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of benzene to cyclohexene was investigated in liquid catalytic system. The hydrogenation results showed that in the presence of ZnSO4, the addition of amines and alcohols could significantly enhance the yield of cycylohexene. The maximum cyclohexene yield of 34.8% was achieved with ethylenediamine as an additive.