Ce-promoted Ru/SBA-15 catalysts prepared by a “two solvents” impregnation method for selective hydrogenation of benzene to cyclohexene Original Research Article

Ce-promoted Ru/SBA-15 catalysts were prepared by a “two solvents” impregnation method. In liquid-phase hydrogenation of benzene, the Ce-promoted Ru/SBA-15 catalysts exhibited superior catalytic performance to the un-promoted catalyst. The optimum bulk Ce/Ru molar ratio was determined to be 0.25, at which a cyclohexene yield of 53.8% was obtained. Based on characterizations, the beneficial effect of the Ce promoter on the selectivity to cyclohexene was ascribed to the enhancement of the hydrophilicity of the catalyst and to the electron transfer between the Ce(III) species and metallic Ru.