Effect of manganese and potassium addition on CeO2-Al2O3 catalyst for hydrogenation of benzoic acid to benzaldehyde

A series of Mn/CeO2-Al2O3 and K/CeO2-Al2O3 catalysts for hydrogenation of benzoic acid to benzaldehyde were prepared to investigate the effect of Mn, K addition on CeO2-Al2O3 catalyst. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and H2-temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR) results suggested that the interaction between CeO2 and MnOx enhanced the reducibility of catalysts and therefore benzoic acid conversion. The addition of K increased the number of basic number on the catalyst which leads to a high selectivity to benzaldehyde, but excessive addition imposed negative effects on the catalyst performance. A Mn-K/CeO2-Al2O3 catalyst was developed and investigated in the reaction. The simultaneous addition of Mn and K enhanced not only the catalytic activity but also the capacity to resist the coke formation over catalyst.