Recent progress in hydrogenation of esters on heterogeneous bimetallic catalysts

Monometallic catalysts based on copper phyllosilicates were actively studied in the 2000s as an alternative to the copper–chromium Adkins catalyst due to their non-toxic properties and high activity in the hydrogenation of esters under mild reaction conditions. However, studies of the past decade show that bimetallic catalysts based on copper-containing nanoparticles are the most prospective catalytic systems for the hydrogenation of diesters and short-chain esters. This review is devoted to the study of the interaction of the second metal with copper-containing nanoparticles and the effect on the catalytic characteristics. The strong interaction between the second metal (Ce, Fe, Zn, Pt, Pd, Ag, Au) and copper nanoparticles leads to an increase in TOF, high selectivity for the required alcohol and increased stability of the catalytic system. The synergistic interaction between the second metal (Ce, Fe, Zn, Pt, Pd, Ag, Au) and copper nanoparticles leads to an increase in TOF, high selectivity for the required alcohol and the enhanced stability of the catalytic system. Bimetallic systems based on noble metals are promising catalysts for the selective hydrogenation of long-chain fatty acid esters due to their improved stability toward sintering and high efficiency under mild reaction conditions. Thus, the development and research of highly effective catalysts for the hydrogenation of esters, providing high activity and selectivity of the formation of the corresponding alcohols, is an urgent task of modern heterogeneous catalysis.