Enhancement of diethyl malonate hydrogenation to 1,3-propanediol using mesoporous Cu/SBA-15 as catalyst

SBA-15 is considered as an ideal support to ensure a copper-based catalyst with high activity and selectivity. In this work, the hydrogenation of diethyl malonate (DEM) to 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) over Cu/SBA-15 catalysts was investigated. Compared to the conventional Cu/SiO2 catalyst, the Cu/SBA-15 catalysts exhibited higher DEM conversions (up to 95%), better 1,3-PDO selectivities (up to 61%), and longer lifetime (over 180 h). These improvements were ascribed to the well-ordered tubular channel structure, better copper active-site dispersion, and appropriate Cu+/Cu degrees ratio in the Cu/SBA-15, affording higher TOFs and copper species surface areas, which was confirmed by N-2-physisorption, X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy, N2O titration, transmission electron microscopy, H-2 temperature-programmed reduction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. The Cu/SBA-15 in this work advances the prospects of DEM hydrogenation as a promising method to produce 1,3-PDO on industrial scale.