Ir/SiO2 catalysts promoted with CrOx and FeOx are very active, selective and stable for selective hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde.

A series of FeO x -promoted Ir/SiO2 catalysts were prepared and tested for gas phase selective hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde. It was found that a catalyst containing Ir nanoparticles contacting with highly dispersed FeO x clusters (3Ir/0.1Fe/SiO2) showed excellent activity and stability, with a 5-fold enhanced steady state crotyl alcohol yield (59.6%) compared to that of the bare Ir/SiO2 (12.4%), while a catalyst promoted with high content of Fe (3Ir/3.5Fe/SiO2) had high initial activity but deactivated rapidly. A catalyst with similar highly dispersed FeO x clusters but prepared by an inverse impregnation sequence (0.1Fe/3Ir/SiO2) also suffered severe deactivation. Various characterizations revealed that the observed behaviors were closely related to the Ir–FeO x interactions induced by different morphologies of the catalysts. The active sites generated at Ir–FeO x interface were responsible for the better performance. The catalyst deactivation was attributed to the deposit of heavy compound and strong adsorption of CO on the surface, which was induced by the strong Ir–FeO x interaction due to heavy decoration of FeO x on the Ir surface.