Cu/SiO₂ catalysts were modified by the sodium by impregnation method, catalytic activity for hydrogenation of benzaldehyde to non-chloride benzyl alcohol was investigated in a continuous flow fixed-bed reactor under atmospheric pressure. It was found that the selectivity of benzyl alcohol was significantly enhanced over sodium modified Cu/SiO₂ catalysts. The optimum loading amount of sodium on Cu-based catalysts is about w＝1.0%. The Na-CuO/SiO₂ catalysts were characterized by XRD, H₂-TPR, BET and FT-IR, the results revealed that reducing temperature of CuO was increased after modification by sodium. Meanwhile, the sodium species reduced the intensity and amounts of the acidic centers on catalytic surface, which effectively inhibited the formation of toluene at higher temperature.

Key words: benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, sodium, hydrogenation, Cu/SiO₂ catalyst