Effect of Ni, La, and Ce Oxides on a Cu/Al2O3 Catalyst with Low Copper Loading for Ethanol Non‐oxidative Dehydrogenation.

The effect of modifying additives (Ni, La, Ce oxides) on the activity of Cu/Al2O3 with a low copper loading was studied for ethanol non‐oxidative dehydrogenation. The catalysts were prepared by impregnation of the commercial Al2O3 granules and characterized by Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), temperature‐programmed desorption of NH3 (TPD‐NH3), temperature‐programmed reduction of H2 (H2‐TPR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Modification of Cu/Al2O3 with Ni, La, and Ce oxides results in increasing catalytic activity. A modification of the Cu/Al2O3 catalyst with nickel and lanthanum oxides, in contrast to cerium oxide, leads to an improvement in the dispersion of the catalyst particles. The Cu‐Ni/Al2O3 catalyst with the highest acidity has the highest selectivity for acetaldehyde. The highest selectivity for butanol is observed for the Cu‐La/Al2O3 catalyst, which has the lowest acidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]