Upgrading of Aqueous Ethanol to Long-Chain Alcohols over Immobilized Highly Dispersed Ni–Re Catalyst

Motivated by the carbon neutrality policy and the demand for value-added bio-based chemicals, it is of great significance and interest to directly upgrade aqueous ethanol to produce long-chain alcohol chemicals and transportation biofuel. In this study, a bimetallic catalyst composed of Re doped Ni@C was prepared by a facile sol–gel method. The bimetal 70-NiRe@C demonstrated higher selectivity toward target long-chain alcohols product and lower selectivity of C1 byproducts than the monomeric metal Ni@C. The addition of Re promotes the dispersion of active Ni on the graphite carrier, contributing to the superior 59.9% ethanol conversion and 45.0% long-chain alcohol yield. This work guides future research into the direct upgrading of water-based bioethanol to the value-added long-chain fine chemicals and biofuels required.