Hydrogenation of paranitrotoluene to p-methyl-cyclohexylamine catalyzed by PEG modified Ru/NaY catalysts

摘要

AbstractA series of Ru/NaY catalysts modified by a different amount of polyethylene glycol (PEG) were prepared using the impregnation-precipitation method and tested towards the reaction of paranitrotoluene (PNT) hydrogenation top-methyl-cyclohexylamine (PMC). The various characterization techniques applied suggested that a suitable amount of PEG was responsible to reduce Ru nanoparticles size and enhance at the same time metallic Ru loading on the catalyst surface. A Ru-PEG7.5/NaY catalyst modified by 7.5mL PEG showed a higher PNT conversion (>99.9%) and reaction selectivity to PMC (95.2%) at 160°C for 35min compared to other Ru catalysts of different Ru/PEG molar ratio. The reusability of the Ru-PEG7.5/NaY catalyst was also investigated showing only slight deactivation due to Ru agglomeration.Graphical abstractPreparative route of Ru/NaY catalyst modified by PEG.Display OmittedHighlights?Suitable amount of PEG was helpful to reduce the Ru particles size.?The selectivity to PMC over Ru-PEG7.5/NaY modified by 7.5mL PEG achieved 95.2%.?Ru-PEG7.5/NaY catalyst showed quite fast kinetics, the reaction time was only 35min.]]>