Characterizations of Ru/ZnO catalysts with different Ru contents for selective hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde

Ru catalysts supported on ZnO with different Ru contents were prepared by an impregnation method and were applied to the vapor-phase selective hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), NH3 temperature-programmed desorption (NH3-TPD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO). It was found that with increasing Ru contents in the Ru/ZnO catalysts, the activity (TOF), surface acidity amount and deactivation rate increased and the selectivity to crotyl alcohol increased first and then decreased. The 3Ru/ZnO catalyst showed the highest selectivity to crotyl alcohol (up to 88.0%) for the hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde. The initial TOF values of the catalysts depended on the strength of surface acidity and the Ru particle sizes. The more Lewis acid sites made catalysts deactivate more easily. It was assumed that the deactivation was due to the formation of organic compounds deposition and poison effect of CO strongly adsorbed on the Ru atoms.