Abstract:Benzotriazole and its derivatives are widely used as UV absorbers, due to their low toxicity and excellent stability. The catalytic performance of PdPtCu/C for the synthesis of 2- (2'-hydroxy-5'-methylphenyl) benzotriazole (UV-P) from 2-nitro- (2'-hydroxy-5'-methylphenyl) azobenzene (HAB) was studied. The conversion of HAB reached 100% and the selectivity of UV-P kept 92.2% after 5 h’ reaction at 323 K and 0.5 MPa hydrogen pressure. XRD, TEM and XPS results showed that the formation of Cu-Pd, Cu-Pt alloy phase and the proper amount of the noble metal species (Mδ ) on the surface of the catalyst were the key factors to inhibit the breakage of N-N bond and to reduce the by-reaction of excessive hydrogenation, which thereby supressed the formation of tetrahydrofins and aromatic amines by-products.