Glucose assisted preparation of Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst for the synthesis of neopentyl glycol

Abstract The preparation of ternary Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts with different gradients of glucose mass fraction was carried out using a distributed and concurrent precipitation method. The catalytic promotion effect on the hydrogenation synthesis of neopentyl glycol (NPG) from hydroxypropionaldehyde (HPA) was analyzed and characterized. It was found that adding a certain amount of glucose to the catalyst preparation process can enhance the distribution of surface-reduced copper, increase the amount of active Cu + , and improve the Cu + /Cu 0 ratio. Evaluation results demonstrated that the glucose-modified catalyst has a promoting effect on the conversion of HPA to NPG.