Catalytic upgrading of ethanol to n-butanol over M-CeO2/AC (M = Cu, Fe, Co, Ni and Pd) catalysts

Abstract M-CeO 2 /AC (M = Cu, Fe, Co, Ni and Pd) catalysts were prepared and evaluated in the continuous catalytic upgrading of ethanol to n -butanol under mild reaction conditions. The highest selectivity to n -butanol (67.6%) was achieved over Pd-CeO 2 /AC catalyst, while Cu-CeO 2 /AC catalyst exhibited the highest ethanol conversion (46.2%) with moderate selectivity to n -butanol (41.3%). The catalytic performance of these catalysts was shown for the first time to largely depend on the dehydrogenation, hydrogenation and C C bond cracking capabilities of each individual supported metal.