Promotion effect of nickel for Cu–Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts in the transfer dehydrogenation of primary aliphatic alcohols

Cu–Ni/γ-Al 2 O 3 bimetallic catalysts were developed for anaerobic dehydrogenation of non-activated primary aliphatic alcohols to aldehydes. Systematic investigation about the promotion effect of nickel on the catalytic performance was carried out. Hydrogenation of C=C bond rather than C=O bond, was significantly improved over Cu–Ni/γ-Al 2 O 3 catalyst by introducing nickel, which interprets the good conversion of primary aliphatic alcohols. This work would contribute to design new catalysts for dehydrogenation of primary aliphatic alcohols.