Highly Selective Gas-Phase Catalytic Hydrogenation of Acetone to Isopropyl Alcohol

Current industrial synthesis procedures of isopropyl alcohol (IPA), by the direct or indirect hydration propylene in gas liquid phase, suffer from low conversion propylene, requirement for high pressure, and harmfulness to environment. In this context, we report a single-step, gas-phase process green IPA via acetone hydrogenation, fixed-bed reactor, under ambient pressure within temperature range 100–350 °C. Composite catalysts with various ratios ruthenium nanoparticles supported on activated charcoal nano-zinc oxide (n-Ru/AC/n-ZnO) were used. Catalytic activity selectivity functions n-Ru/AC/n-ZnO loading ratios, reaction temperature, hydrogen molar ratio. The composite characterized X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR) analysis, nitrogen physisorption. High yields obtained over 3n-Ru/AC/2n-ZnO) catalyst, which showed highest 98.7% toward 96.0% mole ratio 1.5 at 100 Reaction rates, calculated model equation, reasonable agreement those measured experimentally. apparent activation energy (Ea) value hydrogenation was found be 17.2 kJ/mol. This study proved that immobilized Ru potential superior selective exceptionally mild conditions.