Structure effect of activated carbon in Ru/AC catalysts for hydrogenation of phthalates

Activated carbon with different microporous surface area were used to prepare a series of Ru/AC catalysts for the hydrogenation of dioctyl phthalate (DOP) to dioctyl 1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylate (DOCH). The presence of micropores benefit the dispersion of Ru, but Ru particles encapsulated into the micropores can be hardly accessed by DOP molecule. An appropriate microporous surface area of the support should be crucial important for the preparation of highly efficient catalyst for phthalates hydrogenation. The as-prepared 0.45%Ru/AC-2 catalyst (Micropore surface area = 604 m 2 /g) exhibited the best activity in DOP hydrogenation with a TOF of 1406 h −1 due to its suitable micropore surface area.