Dehydrogenation of bioethanol using Cu nanoparticles supported on N‐doped ordered mesoporous carbon

Carbon supported Cu nanoparticles have a remarkable selectivity towards the catalytic dehydrogenation of bioethanol to acetaldehyde, which is an interesting alternative to the preparation from ethylene. In this work, we prepared a series of catalysts comprised of Cu nanoparticles supported on N-doped ordered mesoporous carbons to investigate the catalytic effect of nitrogen content. Our study shows that N-doping has a significant effect on the dispersion of Cu nanoparticles and that the highest content of N results in the highest activity. Furthermore, we show that the combined effects of strong metal-support interactions and nano-confinement is an effective method to prevent thermal and steam induced sintering. In contrast, we find no evidence that N-doping activates the substrate or change the rate-determining step. At 260 degrees C, the best catalyst results in >99 % selectivity and a site-time yield of 175 mol(acetaldehyde)/mol(Cu)/h. Under these conditions, the catalysts are stable for more than 12 h using an aqueous solution of 10 % ethanol as feed.