CO hydrogenation to ethanol over copper-nickel bimetallic catalyst prepared by isomorphous substitution method

A series of Cu-Ni bimetallic catalysts derived from nickel-malachite were prepared by an oriented isomorphous substitution method. The effects of the precursor structure and catalysts surface composition on the catalytic performance CO hydrogenation to ethanol were investigated in an agitated slurry autoclave reactor. The studies demonstrated that the pure (Cu, Ni)₂CO₃(OH)₂ phase was obtained by oriented isomorphous substitution method and Ni²⁺ was rich on the (Cu, Ni)₂CO₃(OH)₂ precursor surface. Uniform distribution of (Cu_x, Ni_1-x)O solid solution were found in CuO crystal lattice. After calcination, the (Cu_x, Ni_1-x)O solid solution dispersed in the crystal structure of CuO uniformly. Cu and Ni dispersed in the catalysts evenly to form an active interface after reduction, which promoted the synthesis of higher alcohols. Discontinuously distributed Ni-active sites prevented the carbon chain from growing further, and enhanced the selectivity of ethanol. The catalyst prepared by the feeding materials with Ni/Cu molar ratio=45:100 was found to exhibit higher activity and ethanol selectivity due to the strong interaction between (Cu_x, Ni_1-x)O solid solution and CuO phase.