Effect of boron content on 1,4-butanediol production by hydrogenation of succinic acid over Re-Ru/BMC (boron-modified mesoporous carbon) catalysts

Abstract A series of Re-Ru bimetallic catalysts supported on mesoporous boron-modified carbon (denoted as Re-Ru/xBMC, x = B/C molar ratio) were prepared by a single-step surfactant-templating method and a subsequent incipient wetness impregnation method, and they were used for liquid-phase hydrogenation of succinic acid to 1,4-butandiol (BDO). The effect of boron addition on the catalytic activities and physicochemical properties of Re-Ru/xBMC catalysts was investigated. It was found that the addition of boron into carbon support affected surface area, metal dispersion, and reducibility of rhenium and ruthenium species in the Re-Ru/xBMC catalysts. It was also observed that boron species in carbon framework existed in several different phases such as substituted boron, partial oxidized boron, and boron oxide. In particular, the amount of substituted boron species was closely related to the hydrogen adsorption behavior of Re-Ru/xBMC catalysts. The amount of weak hydrogen-binding sites increased with increasing the amount of substituted boron species of the catalysts. Yield for BDO in the hydrogenation of succinic acid showed a volcano-shaped trend with respect to B/C molar ratio. This result was in good agreement with the amount of weak hydrogen-binding sites of the catalysts. It was revealed that TOF BDO increased with increasing the amount of weak hydrogen-binding sites of Re-Ru/xBMC catalysts. Among the catalysts, Re-Ru/0.04BMC with the largest amount of weak hydrogen-binding sites served as an efficient catalyst in the selective formation of BDO by hydrogenation of succinic acid.