Halide-free carbonylation of methanol with H-MOR supported CuCeOx catalysts

Heterogeneous halide-free carbonylation of methanol to acetates, including methyl acetate (MA) and acetic acid, using non-precious metal catalysts has been a topic of interest for decades. The key issue is that the water produced by methanol dehydration inhibits the formation of acetyl species and reduces the MA selectivity. Here, we report that CuCeOx/H-mordenite (H-MOR) catalyst can nearly eliminate the inhibiting effect of water on carbonylation by a water-gas shift reaction (WGSR) on-site, and can thus achieve 96.5% methanol conversion with 87.4% MA selectivity for the halide-free carbonylation of methanol. The results of powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy show that the Cu and Ce species are highly dispersed on H-MOR even when the CuCeOx contents are as high as 29 wt-%. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and CO chemisorption analysis reveal that a small portion of Cu species can migrate into the channel of H-MOR when CuCeOx/H-MOR is calcined at 500 °C and these Cu species are converted into Cu+ sites upon reduction. The Cu+ sites facilitate the WGSR and are also active sites for methanol carbonylation. The introduction of Ce benefits the inhibition of coke deposits and thus enhances the catalyst stability.