Recent progress in the catalysts for methyl glycolate synthesis via dimethyl oxalate hydrogenation

The commercial C1-route process for glycolate ester synthesis can be realized by catalytic hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate synthesized from syngas.High performance hydrogenation catalyst development is the key in a C1-route process.Recent progress in catalyst development for hydrogenating dimethyl oxalate to methyl glycolate is outlined in this work,including catalysts for liquid and vapor phase reaction.Catalyst development and its preparation methods are summarized systematically.And their catalytic performances,especially the catalyst stability determined by its compositional and structural factors are also discussed.Furthermore,the reaction mechanism for DMO hydrogenation is proposed.It can be a useful reference for developing catalyst and its related process with self-owned intellectual property right.