Hydrogenation of Ethyl Acetate to Ethanol over Bimetallic Cu-Zn/SiO2 Catalysts Prepared by Means of Coprecipitation

A series of bimetallic Cu-Zn/$SiO_2$ catalysts were prepared via thermal decomposition of the as-synthesized $CuZn(OH)_4(H_2SiO_3)_2{\cdot}nH_2O$ hydroxides precursors. This highly dispersed Cu-solid base catalyst is extremely effective for hydrogenation of ethyl acetate to ethanol. The reduction and oxidation features of the precursors prepared by coprecipitation method and catalysts were extensively investigated by TGA, XRD, TPR and $N_2$-adsorption techniques. Catalytic activity by ethyl acetate hydrogenation of reaction temperatures between 120 and $300^{\circ}C$, different catalyst calcination and reduction temperatures, different Cu/Zn loadings have been examined extensively. The relation between the performance for hydrogenation of ethyl acetate and the structure of the Cu-solid base catalysts with Zn loading were discussed. The detected conversion of ethyl acetate reached 81.6% with a 93.8% selectivity of ethanol. This investigation of the Cu-Zn/$SiO_2$ catalyst provides a recently proposed pathway for ethyl acetate hydrogenation reaction to produce ethanol over Cu-solid base catalysts.