Effect of ZnO on the performance of Ag/SiO2 catalyst for the vapor-phase synthesis of 3-methylindole

The vapor-phase synthesis of 3-methylindole over Ag/SiO2 doped with ZnO was investigated. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, H2-TPR, NH3-TPD and TG techniques. The results indicated that ZnO promoter greatly enhanced the initial activity of the catalyst but disfavored its stability. H2-TPR and XRD results showed that the reduction peak of Ag2O shifted to higher temperature and the intensity of silver diffraction peaks was much weaker after the addition of ZnO promoter to Ag/SiO2. This indicated that there existed the interaction between Ag2O and SiO2-ZnO which promoted the silver particles dispersing on the support and inhibited the sintering of silver during the reaction. NH3-TPD and TG results revealed that the acid amounts of the catalyst and coking increased after adding ZnO to Ag/SiO2, which resulted in the deactivation of Ag/SiO2-ZnO catalyst rapidly.