Bioethanol selective oxidation to acetaldehyde over Ag–CeO2: role of metal–support interactions

Abstract

Bioethanol oxidation was investigated over a Ag/CeO₂ catalyst prepared via a wet impregnation method. The prepared catalyst was fully characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The characterization results indicated that a part of silver was inserted into the lattice of CeO₂ and it expanded the support lattice. The Ag/CeO₂ catalyst was found to outperform the previously reported catalyst systems (acetaldehyde selectivity of 90% and life >36 h) from 200 °C to 350 °C, 5 atm, and gas hourly space velocity of 18 000 mL g_cat⁻¹ h⁻¹. This study provides a path for the selective oxidation of other biomass-derived compounds.