Ambient-pressure synthesis of ethylene glycol catalyzed by C <sub>60</sub> -buffered Cu/SiO <sub>2</sub>
Jianwei Zheng, Lele Huang, Cunhao Cui, Zuo‐Chang Chen, Xu-Feng Liu, Xinping Duan, Xin-Yi Cao, Tong-Zong Yang, Hongping Zhu, Kang Shi, Peng Du, Si‐Wei Ying, Chang-Feng Zhu, Yuan‐Gen Yao, Guo‐Cong Guo, Youzhu Yuan, Su‐Yuan Xie, Lan‐Sun Zheng
Abstract
Bulk chemicals such as ethylene glycol (EG) can be industrially synthesized from either ethylene or syngas, but the latter undergoes a bottleneck reaction and requires high hydrogen pressures. We show that fullerene (exemplified by C 60 ) can act as an electron buffer for a copper-silica catalyst (Cu/SiO 2 ). Hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate over a C 60 -Cu/SiO 2 catalyst at ambient pressure and temperatures of 180° to 190°C had an EG yield of up to 98 ± 1%. In a kilogram-scale reaction, no deactivation of the catalyst was seen after 1000 hours. This mild route for the final step toward EG can be combined with the already-industrialized ambient reaction from syngas to the intermediate of dimethyl oxalate.