Transformation of Ethanol to Ethyl Acetate over Cu/SiO2 Catalysts Modified by ZrO2

Direct transformation of ethanol to ethyl acetate was investigated on a series of Cu(ZrO2)/SiO2 catalysts. Inductively coupled plasma(ICP), surface area analysis, X-ray diffraction(XRD), H2-temperature programmed reduction(H2-TPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), NH3-temperature programmed desorption(NH3-TPD) and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) techniques were used to characterize the catalysts. The results reveal that ZrO2 can improve the dispersion of copper species and increase the acidity of the Cu(ZrO2)/SiO2 catalysts. The Cu0 is responsible for ethanol dehydrogenation to acetaldehyde, and both the Lewis acid and Bronsted acid sites were in favor of the selectivity to ethyl acetate. The synergistic effect of Cu0 and an appropriate amount of acidic sites played an important role in the production of ethyl acetate.