Effect of Ni, La, and Ce Oxides on a Cu/Al 2 O 3 Catalyst with Low Copper Loading for Ethanol Non‐oxidative Dehydrogenation

The effect of modifying additives (Ni, La, Ce oxides) on the activity of Cu/Al 2 O 3 with a low copper loading was studied for ethanol non‐oxidative dehydrogenation. The catalysts were prepared by impregnation of the commercial Al 2 O 3 granules and characterized by Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), temperature‐programmed desorption of NH 3 (TPD‐NH 3 ), temperature‐programmed reduction of H 2 (H 2 ‐TPR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Modification of Cu/Al 2 O 3 with Ni, La, and Ce oxides results in increasing catalytic activity. A modification of the Cu/Al 2 O 3 catalyst with nickel and lanthanum oxides, in contrast to cerium oxide, leads to an improvement in the dispersion of the catalyst particles. The Cu‐Ni/Al 2 O 3 catalyst with the highest acidity has the highest selectivity for acetaldehyde. The highest selectivity for butanol is observed for the Cu‐La/Al 2 O 3 catalyst, which has the lowest acidity.