Ethanol coupling paves the path for the production of the key intermediates for the generation of paints, adhesives and polymers from the renewable resources. Currently reported catalytic systems for ethanol coupling lack the product selectivity, yields and catalyst stability due to the complex nature of the chemistry and the non-selective interaction with the different functionality of the catalyst. At PNNL, we have demonstrated the ethanol coupling to higher alcohols at around 50% yields and around 85% selectivity with stable catalyst lifetime over 500 hours in a continuous plug flow reactor system. The superior performance of the alcohol coupling can be attributed to the absence of Cu–Cu metallic bonding, which favors the formation of by products such as ketones and esters via competing cross-coupling chemistries. In this presentation we will discuss in detail about the copper pseudo-single-atom supported on MgO-Al2O3 catalyst for the ethanol coupling chemistry.

MgO-Al2O3 supported copper pseudo single atom catalysts for Guerbet ethanol conversion

255th National Meeting (2018)

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