Introduction of ZnO, Sn, and P promoters in CuO/CeO2 catalysts for improved production of dimethyldichlorosilane in the Rochow-Müller reaction

Developing an efficiently supported Cu-based catalyst with promoters to substitute the existing non-supported Cu-based catalysts is highly desirable to the Rochow-Müller reaction. Using a simple ball-milling method and CeO2 support, we prepared a high-performance CuO-ZnO-P-Sn/CeO2 catalyst by integrating highly dispersed multicomponent promoters of ZnO, Sn, and P with the active component CuO. This catalyst shows a significantly enhanced dimethyldichlorosilane selectivity because these promoters can substantially increase the Cu+ content and the formation of an active CuxSi phase. This work provides a new approach to efficiently designing Cu-based catalysts for the Rochow-Müller reaction.