Enhanced hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate to ethylene glycol over indium promoted Cu/SiO2

Abstract Hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate (DMO) on Cu/SiO2 catalysts is the final reaction step in a growing industrial syngas to ethylene glycol (StEG) process. In the present work, indium species are found to dramatically enhance the performance of a Cu/SiO2 catalyst prepared by urea-assisted gelation for the conversion of DMO to EG. Characterization reveals that indium species have negligible effect on the content of Cu+ species on the surface. Rather, the promotional effect likely originates from interactions between reduced indium species and Cu0 species though enhanced ability of the latter to activate H2.