B-doped activated carbon as a support for a high-performance Zn-based catalyst in acetylene acetoxylation

A series of boron-doped (B-doped) catalysts with dissimilar mass ratios of boric acid and activated carbon (AC) were prepared by an impregnation method for acetylene acetoxylation. The introduction of a number of boron atoms activates the stable π electrons in AC, which not only enhances the electron transfer between Zn and the reactants, but also improves the adsorption ability of CH3COOH. Improving the conversion rate of CH3COOH from 50% to 65% effectively. The inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis confirmed the content of zinc approximately 7.3 wt% for both Zn/AC and Zn/0.02 B-AC-900 catalysts. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis demonstrated that the introduction of boron changed the electron cloud density of Zn, and the strength of the Zn–O (from CH3COOH) bond was increased. In addition, temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) analysis revealed that the Zn/0.02 B-AC-900 catalyst enhanced the adsorption of CH3COOH and reduced the adsorption of C2H2, thus the conversion rate of CH3COOH was increased.