Design of new catalysts for the selective hydrogenation of benzene

Abstract
Cyclohexene is an intermediate for the production of a large number of important high added value
products such as cyclohexanone, adipic acid, nylons, medicines, agrochemicals and others. The aim
of this study is to implement new supports for the catalysts and to examine different reaction
conditions to obtain high selectivity without using water. Catalysts were prepared using RuCl3 as
precursor and four different supports. They were characterized by X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The reaction was carried out at 423 K and
35 KPa using a stirred tank reactor. The different reaction conditions used were shown to modify
the selectivity and the conversion. Particularly, it was observed that the catalysts made with γ-Al2O3
were more selective under the different reaction conditions in the presence of the aqueous phase
in the series of catalysts with 1% ruthenium. However, this trend was not maintained when the
reaction was carried out in the absence of the aqueous phase. On the other hand, the images
obtained by SEM reveal the dual inorganic-polymer composition of the composite supports. This
indicates that they have a hydrophilic-hydrophobic character, while that of γ-Al2O3 is only
hydrophilic. The variation in the reaction behavior of composite supports and those made from γ-
Al2O3 may be due to this difference in the nature of the support. Future work should focus on further
characterization studies on catalysts and on experimental activity in the reaction.

Keywords: Cyclohexene, Composite Catalysts, Ruthenium, Hydrogenation, Benzene.