Complexation effect between Cu-based catalyst and DESMP in acetylene hydration

• Originality and Novelties: we present a phosphorus and sulfur ligands-complexed copper catalyst assessed for acetylene hydration. The accession of phosphorus and sulfur could be highly vigorous for the acetylene hydration reaction. The results indicate that the selectivity of the catalysts is mainly improved by the P fragment of the ligands, and the S fragment of the ligands could restrain the loss of copper species to improve the stability of the catalysts. • The Cu-DESMP 1.5 /AC catalyst was prepared by a simple impregnation method. • The accession of phosphorus and sulfur could be highly vigorous for the acetylene hydration reaction. • The selectivity of the catalysts is mainly improved by the P fragment of the ligands. • The S fragment of the ligands could restrain the loss of copper species to improve the stability of the catalysts. Mercuric chloride catalysts are used to catalyze acetylene hydration for acetaldehyde production with high activity, but high toxicity limits its practical application. Here we present a phosphorus and sulfur ligands-complexed copper catalyst assessed for acetylene hydration. The optimum catalyst gave more than 94.0% acetylene conversion and 88.4% aldehyde selectivity at 10 h. After running for 20 h, the catalyst showed high stability. The conversion to acetylene remained stable at over 93.3% and the selectivity of aldehyde decreased from 92.2% to 79.7%. The accession of phosphorus and sulfur could be highly vigorous for the acetylene hydration reaction. All the catalysts were characterized by XRD, XPS, ICP, TPR, TEM, FT-IR and BET technologies. The results indicate that the selectivity of the catalysts is mainly improved by the P fragment of the ligands, and the S fragment of the ligands could restrain the loss of copper species to improve the stability of the catalysts.