Fabrication of Cu‐Cu2O‐CeO2 Catalyst and Its Performance in Selective Hydrogenation of Methyl Benzoate to Benzyl Alcohol

Abstract Selective hydrogenation of methyl benzoate to benzyl alcohol attracts an increasing interest due to mild reaction conditions and a chlorine‐free characteristic. Cu‐Cu 2 O‐CeO 2 catalysts were fabricated by coprecipitation with controlled synthetic conditions, and the resulting catalysts exhibited a high dispersion degree even at a high Cu loading, excellent reduction properties, and a high fraction of cuprous ions versus metallic copper. The catalysts with a Cu/Ce ratio of 2:1 exhibited a methyl benzoate conversion of 93.7% as well as a selectivity to benzyl alcohol of 86.7% under applied reaction conditions. The high activity and selectivity of the Cu‐Cu 2 O‐CeO 2 catalysts may be attributed to the presence of Cu + with a relatively high fraction, and the generation of Cu + may be related to oxygen vacancies of the CeO 2 . This study may provide some insights into the development of Cu‐based heterogeneous catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of methyl benzoate to benzyl alcohol.