Coating-modified foam ceramic catalysts for ethyl nicotinate hydrogenation

In drug synthesis, ethyl nicotinate hydrogenation is commonly performed to prepare ethyl 3-piperidine-carboxylate. For this hydrogenation, it is crucial to explore a catalyst with high catalytic activity and selectivity to form the desired product. To this end, a series of Pd/Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 catalysts with various SiO 2 contents were prepared via coprecipitation on the surface of foam ceramics. We investigated the effect of SiO 2 incorporation on the physical and chemical properties of the catalysts, such as specific surface area, pore structure, number of acidic sites, metal–support interactions, and catalytic activity. The addition of Si was found to weaken the metal–support interactions, facilitate the reduction of PdO, provide more metal sites, and increase the catalytic efficiency of catalyst. The effects of temperature and pressure on the hydrogenation reaction were also investigated, and under optimal reaction conditions, product yields of up to 85.53 % were achieved. This study offers a novel approach for the catalytic hydrogenation of ethyl nicotinate using carrier-modified metal–acid catalysts.