In situ IR study of dimethyl oxalate hydrogenation to ethylene glycol over Cu/SiO_2 catalyst

摘要

The mechanism of dimethyl oxalate hydrogenation to ethylene glycol over Cu/SiO2 catalyst was investigated by in situ Fourier transform infrared(FTIR)spectroscopy.It was found that dimethyl oxalate and methyl glycolate proceeded via dissociative adsorption on Cu/SiO2 catalyst,and four main intermediates,CH3OC(O)(O)C-M(1655 cm-1),M-C(O)(O)C-M(1618 cm-1),HOCH2(O)C-M(1682 cm-1)and CH3O-M(2924-2926 cm-1),were identified during the reaction.It was concluded that dimethyl oxalate hydrogenation to ethylene glycol mainly proceeded along the route:dimethyl oxalate →CH3OC(O)(O)C-M→ methyl glycolate →HOCH2(O)C-M→ ethylene glycol.Finally a schematic reaction network was proposed.