Effective exfoliation of Cu/ZrO2 by varying Cu content as high performance catalysts for dimethyl oxalate hydrogenation to ethylene glycol

Here, an interesting strategy for exfoliating Cu/ZrO2 catalyst into nano-layers by varying Cu content is reported. The unique layered structures with enhanced surface properties endow Cu/ZrO2 catalyst with more active sites interacting with the reactant molecules, which allowed their remarkable catalytic performance in hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate to ethylene glycol.