ИСТИНА

The authors propose to carry out the process of GL hydrogenolysis in the presence of in situ synthesized copper-containing catalysts. The copper dispersed particles (Cu-DP) and copper-zinc oxide dispersed particles (Cu-ZnO-DP) were synthesized by in situ reduction of copper and zinc acetates, respectively, using of potassium hydroxide and were active in GL hydrogenolysis at T = 220°C under hydrogen pressure 1–6 MPa. The main product formed was PG and by-products were ethylene glycol, lactic acid (LA), and glyceric acid. The morphology and phase composition of in situ formed Cu-DP and the Cu-ZnO-DP catalysts were investigated by SEM, HRTEM, XRD and XPS. The catalytic phase was established to represent nanosized particles, consisting of Cu(0) or Cu(0) and ZnO phases. It was estimated by HRTEM, that the size of Cu-ZnO-DP was no more than 150 nm. The influence of the copper and zinc oxide molar ratio of in situ generated the Cu-ZnO-DP on the catalytic performance in the hydrogenolysis of GL was studied. The highest GL conversion and PG selectivity were achieved by in situ generated catalysts with a ZnO:Cu ratio of 3 mol. The dispersion of Cu-ZnO-DP was found to correlate with the content of zinc oxide. The most dispersed catalysts for GL hydrogenolysis were obtained with a ZnO:Cu ratio of 3 mol.