Selective hydrogenation of benzene to cyclohexene over RuCoB/γ-Al2O3 without additive

Catalyst RuCoB/gamma-Al2O3 was prepared by the reduction impregnation method and characterized by ICP, TEM, XRD, XPS, and TPR. The catalyst showed a high selectivity to cyclohexene for the partial hydrogenation of benzene without any additive. The high selectivity possibly results from that cobalt and boron cause the formation of electron-deficient ruthenium species. Under the optimum conditions, the maximum yield of cyclohexene reached 28.8%. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.