Selective Hydrogenation of Maleic Anhydride to Succinic Anhydride over Nickel Catalyst Supported on Carbon Microspheres

The colloidal carbon microspheres(CMS)were prepared by the hydrothermal method.The nickel catalysts supported on carbon microspheres(Ni/CMS)were further prepared and were characterized by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),the X-ray diffraction(XRD),the scanning electron microscopy(SEM),the transmission electron microscopy(TEM),and the N_(2)adsorption technique.The selective hydrogenation of maleic anhydride(MA)to succinic anhydride(SA)over the Ni/CMS catalysts was investigated.The results indicated that the Ni/CMS catalyst,which was prepared with glucose as carbon source and calcined at 500℃,exhibited the best performance.The hydrogen pressure,reaction temperature,and reaction time could significantly affect the conversion of maleic anhydride during the hydrogenation reaction.A 98.4%conversion of MA and an 100%selectivity to SA were achieved over the Ni/CMS catalyst in acetic anhydride solvent under mild conditions covering a temperature of 90℃,a H2 pressure of 1.0 MPa,and a reaction time of 3 h.