Supported Ru catalysts: a study of the influence of supports, promoters and preparative variables on the catalytic activity and selectivity

The influence of some preparative variables, of the metal loading and of the support on the activity of Ru catalysts for the selective hydrogenation of benzene to cyclohexene has been studied. The reaction has been carried out in a tetraphase reactor (in the presence of an aqueous solution of ZnSO₄) at 423 K and 5 MPa pressure. The effect of hydrogen diffusion on the reaction kinetics and on cyclohexene selectivity was studied. The hydrophilicity of the support was related to the observed selectivity. Hydrogen chemisorption indicates that the catalyst activity is not influenced by the Ru dispersion, but mainly by the weakly chemisorbed species on the catalyst surface. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.