Uniformly
dispersed 5 wt % ruthenium catalysts supported on Al
x
SBA-15 (x = Si/Al ratio)
were prepared by chemical fluid deposition employing supercritical
CO2 as the solvent for hydrogenating dimethyl terephthalate
to dimethyl 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate in water. Complete conversion
of dimethyl terephthalate was achieved over a Ru5/Al20SBA-15 catalyst having the highest number of Lewis acid sites
at 100 °C and 4.14 MPa H2 pressure in 1 h. Here, 100%
selectivity with a dimethyl 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate yield of
93.4% was observed in 0.5 h due to complete cutoff of hydrocracking
byproducts at shorter reaction times. Al modification enhanced selectivity
of the catalysts toward dimethyl 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate by governing
the distribution of Lewis and Brönsted acid sites in the support.
Water as a functional solvent enriched the hydrogenation of dimethyl
terephthalate via an on-water mechanism. The Ru5/Al20SBA-15 catalyst was stable over five cycles. Greener catalyst
synthesis, use of water, mild reaction conditions, and high atom economy
led the proposed system to be a greener sustainable process.
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