Efficiency of high-loaded nickel catalysts modified by Mg in hydrogen storage/extraction using quinoline/decahydroquinoline pair as LOHC substrates

An effect of Mg introduction on efficiency of high-loaded nickel catalysts in dehydrogenation of decahydroquinoline(10HQ)was inves-tigated.10HQ dehydrogenation is key process for the liquid organic hydrogen carrier(LOHC)storage technology using the quinoline/10HQ pair as H_(2)-lean/H_(2)-rich substrates.An influence of synthesis technique of Ni/Mg/Al catalysts on their properties has been demonstrated.The catalysts were synthesized through coprecipitation of Ni,Mg,Al precursors to obtain layered double hydroxides(LDH)or via syn-thesis of(∼72 wt%)Ni-Al_(2)O_(3) system-also through coprecipitation,followed by modifying with a magnesium-containing precursor.For the catalysts of the first series,the inclusion of magnesium into LDH lattice led to a significant increase in catalytic activity in hydrogen extraction(10HQ dehydrogenation reaction).Despite the decrease in the content of catalytically active nickel,a significant increase in the yield of the dehydrogenation product was observed.This regularity is presumably associated with appearance of basic sites,that accelerates the dehydrogenation reaction.In the case of the second series,activity of pre-reduced(600°C,H_(2))catalysts in dehydrogenation of 10HQ also significantly depends on a MgO content and is maximal at Mg:Ni weight ratio 0.056.Using an in-depth study of structure of the original and reduced catalyst samples(Ni-Al_(2)O_(3) and Ni-MgNiOx-Al_(2)O_(3)),it was shown that this regularity is associated with the increased resistance of catalytically active Ni particles to agglomeration during the reductive activation.Also,using the Ni-MgNiOx-Al_(2)O_(3)catalyst for hydrogen storage process(hydrogenation reaction),the possibility of deep quinoline hydrogenation(up to 10HQ)in a flow-type reactor was demonstrated for the first time.

Recent progress in nickel single-atom catalysts for the electroreduction of CO_(2) to CO

The electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide(CO_(2))is considered an effective strategy for mitigating the energy crisis and the greenhouse effect.Nickel is widely used in single-atom catalysts(SACs)owing to its special electronic structure.In this minireview,the basic principles of Ni SACs in the electrocatalytic reduction of CO_(2) to CO are first described.Subsequently,Ni SACs are divided into three categories depending on different strategies used to improve properties.The synthesis,morphology,performance and theoretical calculations of the catalysts are also described.Finally,an overview of the existing challenges and perspectives of Ni SACs for CO_(2) reduction is presented.

Dry reforming reaction over nickel catalysts supported on nanocrystalline calcium aluminates with different CaO/Al_2O_3 ratios

Nanocrystalline calcium aluminates with different CaO/Al2O3 ratios were prepared by a facile co-precipitation method using Poly（ethylene glycol）-block-poly（propylene glycol）-block-poly（ethylene glycol） （PEG-PPG-PEG, MW： 5800） as a surfactant. They were employed as catalyst support for nickel catalysts in methane reforming with carbon dioxide. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, N2 adsorption （BET）, temperature-programmed reduction and oxidation （TPR-TPO）, and scanning electron microscopy （SEM） techniques. Catalysts showed a relatively high catalytic activity and stability. TPR analysis revealed that the catalysts with higher CaO content are more difficult to be reduced. TPO analysis showed that the 5 wt%Ni/CA and 5 wt%Ni/C12A7 catalysts with higher CaO amount were effective against coke deposition.

Promotion effects of nickel-doped Al2O3-nanosheet-supported Au catalysts for CO oxidation

Supported gold catalysts show high activity toward CO oxidation, and the nature of the support significantly affects the catalytic activity. Herein, serial Ni doping of thin porous Al2 O3 nanosheets was performed via a precipitation-hydrothermal method by varying the amount of Ni during the precipitation step. The prepared nanosheets were subsequently used as supports for the deposition of Au nanoparticles(NPs). The obtained Au/Nix Al catalysts were studied in the context of CO oxidation to determine the effect of Ni doping on the supports. Enhanced catalytic performances were obtained for the Au/Nix Al catalysts compared with those of the Au supported on bare Al2 O3. The Ni content and pretreatment atmosphere were both shown to influence the catalytic activity. Pretreatment under a reducing atmosphere was beneficial for improving catalytic activity. The highest activity was observed for the catalysts with a Ni/Al molar ratio of 0.05, achieving complete CO conversion at 20 °C with a gold loading of 1 wt%. The in-situ FTIR results showed that the introduction of Ni strengthened CO adsorption on the Au NPs. The H2-TPR and O2-TPD results indicated that the introduction of Ni produced new oxygen vacancies and allowed the oxygen molecules to be adsorbed and activated more easily. The improved catalytic performance after doping Ni was attributed to the smaller size of the Au NPs and more active oxygen species.

Effect of Plasma Spheroidization Process on the Microstructure and Crystallographic Phases of Silica, Alumina and Nickel Particles

During the plasma spheroidization process powders undergo different changes in their microstructures and crystal phases. In this paper, simple calculation of heat transfer between the plasma and a suspended particle was performed based on three hypotheses for the purpose of guiding experiments. Experimental investigation of the crystal phases and microstructural changes during the plasma processing was made using silica, alumina and nickel powders as starting materials. It has been revealed from the experimental results that these materials undergo different changes in crystal phases and microstructures, and these changes are essentially determined by the structures, properties and aggregate states of the starting materials.

Synthesis and Performance of Mesoporous Phosphotungstic Acid/Alumina Composite as a Novel Oxidative Desulfurization Catalyst

A series of mesoporous phosphotungstic acid/alumina composites （HPW/Al_2O_3） with various HPW contents were synthesized by evaporation-induced self-assembly method. These composites were characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption, TEM, FTIR, and UV-vis, and were tested as catalysts in oxidation desulfurization of model fuel composed of dibenzothiophene （DBT） and hydrocarbon, using H202 as the oxidant. These composites exhibited high activity in catalytic oxidation of DBT in model fuel and good reusing ability. The best performance was achieved by using the mesoporous HPW/Al_2O_3 with 15wt% HPW content, which resulted in a DBT conversion of 98% after 2 h reaction at 343 K, and it did not show significant activity degradation after 3 recycles. Characterization results showed that the mesoporous structure of alumina and the Keggin structure of HPW were preserved in the formed composite. These results suggested that HPW/ Al_2O_3 could be a promising catalyst in oxidative desulfurization process.

A general bimetal-ion adsorption strategy to prepare nickel single atom catalysts anchored on graphene for efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) supported on two-dimensional (2D) materials are highly attractive for maximizing their catalytic activity.However,graphene based SACs are primarily bonded with nitrogen and carbon sites,resulting in poor performance for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER).Herein,we develop a general bimetal-ion adsorption strategy for the synthesis of individually dispersed Ni SACs anchored on the oxygenated sites of ultrathin reduced graphene oxide as efficient OER electrocatalysts.The resultant Ni SACs for OER in alkaline electrolyte exhibit a highly stable overpotential of 328 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm^-2,and Tafel slope of 84 mV dec^-1 together with long-term durability and negligible degradation for 50 h,which is greatly outperform its counterparts of nitrogen bonded Ni SACs (564 mV,364 mV dec^-1) and Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles anchored on graphene (450 mV,142 mV dec^-1),and most reported Ni based OER electrocatalysts.Furthermore,the extended X-ray absorption fine structure at the Ni K-edge and theoretical simulation reveal that the nickel-oxygen coordination significantly boost OER performance.Therefore,this work will open numerous opportunities for creating novel-type 2D SACs via oxygen-metal bonding as highly robust OER catalysts.

CO_2 reforming of methane over nickel catalysts supported on nanocrystalline MgAl_2O_4 with high surface area

In this paper dry reforming of methane （DRM） was carried out over nanocrystalline MgAl2O4-supported Ni catalysts with various Ni loadings. Nanocrystalline MgAl2O4 spinel with high specific surface area was synthesized by a co-precipitation method with the addition of pluronic P123 triblock copolymer as surfactant, and employed as catalyst support. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, N2 adsorption, H2 chemisorption, temperature-programmed reduction （TPR）, temperature-programmed oxidation （TPO）, temperature- programmed desorption （TPD） and transmission and scanning electron microscopies （TEM, SEM） techniques. The obtained results showed that the catalyst support has a nanocrystalline structure （crystal size： about 5 nm） with a high specific surface area （175 m2 g-1） and a mesoporous structure. Increasing in nickel content decreased the specific surface area and nickel dispersion. The prepared catalysts showed high catalytic activity and stability during the reaction. SEM analysis revealed that whisker type carbon deposited over the spent catalysts and increasing in nickel loading increased the amount of deposited carbon. The nickel catalyst with 7 wt% of nickel showed the highest catalytic activity.

Effects of the Supports on Activity of Supported Nickel Catalysts for Hydrogenation of m-Dinitrobenzene to m-Phenylenediamine

The hydrogenation of m-dinitrobenzene to m-phenylenediamine in liquid phase was studied with the nickel catalysts supported on SiO2, TiO2, γ-Al2O3, MgO and diatomite carders. Based on the experiments of X-ray diffraction （XRD）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, temperature-programmed reduction （TPR）, temperature-programmed desorption of hydrogen （H2-TPD） and activity evaluation, the physico-chemical and catalytic properties of the catalysts were investigated. Among the catalysts tested, the SiO2 supported nickel catalyst showed the highest activity and selectivity towards m-phenylenediamine, over which 97.3% m-dinitrobenzene conversion and 95.1% m-phenylenediamine yield were obtained at 373K under hydrogen pressure of 2.6MPa after reaction for 6 h when using ethanol as solvent. Although TiO2 and diatomite supported nickel catalysts also presented high activity, they had lower selectivity towards m-phenylenediamine. As for γ-Al2O3 and MgO supported catalysts were almost inactive for the object reaction. It was shown that both the activity and selectivity of the catalysts were strongly depended on the interaction between nickel and the support. The higher activities of Ni/SiO2, Ni/TiO2 and Ni/diatomite could be attributed to the weaker metal-support interaction, on which Ni species presented as crystallized Ni metal particles. On the other hand, there existed strong metal-support interaction in Ni/MgO and Ni γ-Al2O3, which causes these catalysts more difficult to be reduced and the availability of Ni active sites decreased, resulting in their low catalytic activity.

One-step Synthesis of n-Butanol from Ethanol Condensation over Alumina-supported Metal Catalysts

One-step synthesis of n-butanol from bimolecular condensation of ethanol was firstlyachieved over nickel supported gamma alumina catalyst. A mechanism of dehydration path for thegrowth of carbon chain by eliminating a hydroxy group from one ethanol molecule with a α-H ofother ethanol molecule rather than aldol condensation was verified.

Study on the Reaction Mechanism for Carbon Dioxide Reforming of Methane over supported Nickel Catalyst

The adsorption and dissociation of methane and carbon dioxide for reforming on nickel catalyst were extensively investigated by TPSR and TPD experiments. It showed that the decomposition of methane results in the formation of at least three kinds of surface carbon species on supported nickel catalyst, while CO2 adsorbed on the catalyst weakly and only existed in one kind of adsorption state. Then the mechanism of interaction between the species dissociated from CH4 and CO2 during reforming was proposed.

Nickel catalysts supported on MgO with different specific surface area for carbon dioxide reforming of methane

In this paper, three kinds of MgO with different specific surface area were prepared, and their effects on the catalytic performance of nickel catalysts for the carbon dioxide reforming of methane were investigated. The results showed that MgO support with the higher specific surface area led to the higher dispersion of the active metal, which resulted in the higher initial activity. On the other hand, the specific surface area of MgO materials might not be the dominant factor for the basicity of support to chemisorb and activate CO2, which was another important factor for the performance of catalysts. Herein, Ni/MgO(CA) catalyst with proper specific surface area and strong ability to activate CO2exhibited stable catalytic property and the carbon species deposited on the Ni/MgO(CA) catalyst after 10 h of reaction at 650 ?C were mainly activated carbon species.

Catalytic performance of zinc-supported copper and nickel catalysts in the glycerol hydrogenolysis

Gas-phase catalytic conversion of glycerol to value added chemicals was investigated over zinc-supported copper and nickel catalysts.The addition of aluminum in the support was also investigated in glycerol conversion and the results indicate an increase in the acidity and adsorption capacity for both copper and nickel catalysts.HRTEM and XRD analysis revealed Ni Zn alloy formation in the Ni/ZnO catalyst.The XRD patterns of the prepared Zn Al mixed oxide catalysts show the presence of Gahanite phase(ZnAl2O4).In addition,H2 chemisorption and TPR results suggest a strong metal-support interactions(SMSI)effect between Ni and Zn O particles.Bare supports Zn O and ZnAl(Zn/Al=0.5)were investigated in the glycerol conversion and they did not present activity.Copper supported on ZnO and ZnAl mixed oxide(Zn/Al=0.5)was active towards hydroxyacetone formation.Nickel was active in the hydrogenolysis of glycerol both for C–C and C–O bonds cleavage of glycerol producing CH4.Strong metal-support interactions(SMSI)between Ni and ZnO has a remarkable suppression effect on the methanation activity during the glycerol conversion.

Carbon dioxide reforming of methane over mesoporous nickel aluminate/γ-alumina composites

A series of xNiAl2O4/γ-Al2O3composites with various Ni contents have been prepared via one-step partial hydrolysis of metal nitrate salts in the absence of surfactants and used for carbon dioxide reforming of methane. The characterization results demonstrated that the NiAl2O4/γ-Al2O3materials possessed mesoporous structures of uniform pore sizes; and the Ni2+ions were completely reacted with alumina to NiAl2O4spinel in the matrices using N2sorption, XRD, TEM, and XPS. The NiAl2O4/γ-Al2O3materials exhibited excellent catalytic properties and superior long-term stability for carbon dioxide reforming of methane. The effects of Ni content on the intrinsic activities and the amounts of coke disposition of the xNiAl2O4/γ-Al2O3catalysts were discussed in detail for the carbon dioxide reforming of methane. The results revealed that the Ni particle sizes did not affect the intrinsic activity of metallic Ni, but smaller Ni particles could reduce the rate of coke deposition. © 2016 Science Press

Stabilization of Cu/ZnO Based Catalysts by Nickel Additive in Methanol Decomposition

A series of Cu/Zn based catalysts with and without Ni, prepared by the co-precipitation method, has been studied for methanol decomposition. CO and H2 are the major products. The Cu/Zn catalysts show a low initial activity and a poor stability. The formation of the CuZn alloys was observed in the deactivated Cu/Zn catalysts which were used for methanol decomposition at 250 . When small amounts of Ni were added in the catalyst, the Cu/Zn/Ni(molar ratio 5/4/ x) catalysts showed a high activity at a low temperature. The activity and the stability of the catalyst depend on the nickel content. The activity of the Cu/Zn/Ni catalysts was maintained at a. relatively stable value of 78% conversion of methanol with 95% selectivity of H2, 93% selectivity of CO, and a more than 70% yield of hydrogen was obtained at 250 C when x >1. The stability of the Cu/Zn/Ni (molar ratio 5/4/x) catalysts showed the maximum (ca 88%) when x=1. The stabilization effect of nickel on the Cu/Zn based catalysts may lead to the increasing of the dispersion of active Cu species and the prevention of CuZn alloys formation.

Nickel and aluminium recovery from spent reforming catalyst through selective leaching,crystallization and precipitation

An attempt has been made to investigate and optimize the recovery of Ni and Al through sulphuric acid(3.0-5.5 mol/L)leaching under different operating conditions.From the leaching experiments,it was possible to extract 98.5%of NiO and 40.7%of Al_(2)O_(3)under the conditions of 5.5 mol/L H_(2)SO_(4),reaction time of 4 h,solid-to-liquid ratio 0.2 g/mL,temperature of 358 K,particle size<100μm,200-250 r/min with 5.0 g catalyst dosage.The leached liquor Al was separated by selective crystallization using 1.4 mol/L KOH and Ni was separated by selective precipitation using 0.3 mol/L H_(2)C_(2)O_(4).From the studies,it is possible to recover around 97.9%of NiO having 98.3%purity,around 25%of Al_(2)O_(3)was also recovered as alum-(K)having 99%purity and 14.7%of Al_(2)O_(3)as a salt of Al-K-C_(2)O_(4)-SO_(4).Sulphuric acid was found to be a suitable leaching agent for selective leaching and it was also observed that alum-(K)can be selectively crystallized from sulphate solutions.The study also indicated the effective extraction and recovery of nickel and aluminium which were well supported by characterization studies using TG-DTA/DTG and XRD techniques.

Kinetics of nickel leaching from roasting-dissolving residue of spent catalyst with sulfuric acid

Sulfuric acid leaching process was applied to extract nickel from roasting-dissolving residue of a spent catalyst, the effect of different parameters on nickel extraction was investigated by leaching experiments, and the leaching kinetics of nickel was analyzed. The experimental results indicate that the effects of particle size and sulfuric acid concentration on the nickel extraction are remarkable; the effect of reaction temperature is mild; while the effect of stirring speed in the range of 400-1 200 r/min is negligible. Decreasing particle size or increasing sulfuric acid concentration and reaction temperature, the nickel extraction efficiency is improved. 93.5% of nickel in residue is extracted under suitable leaching conditions, including particle size （0.074-0.100） mm, sulfuric acid concentration 30% （mass fraction）, temperature 80 ~C, reaction time 180 min, mass ratio of liquid to solid 10 and stirring speed 800 r/min. The leaching kinetics analyses shows that the reaction rate of leaching process is controlled by diffusion through the product layer, and the calculated activation energy of 15.8 kJ/mol is characteristic for a diffusion controlled process.

Hydrothermal treatment of metallic-monolith catalyst support with self-growing porous anodic-alumina film

Metallic-monolith catalyst support with self-growing porous anodic alumina(PAA)film was prepared by anodizing Al plate.The effect of hydrothermal treatment(HTT)on the crystalline state and textural properties of PAA film was investigated by XRD,BET,SEM and TG.The HTT treatment above 50°C and the subsequent calcination above 300°C could convert the amorphous skeleton alumina intoγ-alumina and increase the specific surface area(SBET).However,SEM images showed the HTT modification was a non-uniform process along the thickness of PAA film.The promotion effect of HTT on SBETwas non-linear,and the slope of SBETgradually decreased with the HTT temperature or time increased.The limited HTT effect should be attributed to a changed pore structure caused by an unfavorable pore sealing limitation.Pore widening treatment(PWT)before HTT could break the pore sealing limitation,because of the reduced internal diffusion resistance of hydrothermal reaction.The synergistic combination of PWT and HTT developed a PAA support with a large SBETcomparable to commercialγ-alumina.In the catalytic combustion of toluene,the Pt-based catalyst prepared by using the PWT and HTT comodified PAA support gave higher Pt dispersion and more favorable catalytic activity than that treated by HTT alone.The presence of a bimodal pore structure was suggested to be a decisive reason.

Highly Active New α-Diimine Nickel Catalyst for Polymerization of Ethylene

A new α-diimine ligand 1a, bis[N,N′-（4-tert-butyl-2,6-dimethylphenyl）imino]-2,3-butanediylidene and its corresponding Ni（II） complex 2a, {bis[N,N′-（4-tert-butyl-2,6-dimethylphenyl）imino]-2,3-butanediylidene}dibromo- nickel were successfully synthesized, and characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscope（FTIR）, elemental analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）. α-Diimine ligand 1b, bis[N,N′-（2,6- dimethylphenyl）imino]-2,3-butanediylidene and its corresponding Ni（II） complex 2b, {bis[N,N′-（2,6-dimethyl- phenyl）imino]-2,3-butanediylidene}dibromonickel were also synthesized and characterized for comparison. The pre-catalyst 2a with sterically bulky, electron-donating group tert-butyl, activated by diethylaluminum chloride （DEAC） and tested in the polymerization of ethylene, was very highly active[2.01×107 g PE/（mol Ni？h？0.1 MPa）] and led to a very highly branched polyethylene（ca. 35―103 branches/1000 C）. The state of the polyethylene obtained varied from plastic, elastomer polymers to the oil-like hyperbranched polymers.

Preparation of Alumina Abrasion-Resistant Ceramic Grinding Ball with Spent FCC Equilibrium Catalyst

The chemical composition, structure and thermal stability of the spent FCC equilibrium catalyst from an oil refinery were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, DTA-TG, BET, complete chemical analysis, SEM, and XRF. The spent FCC equilibrium catalyst, clay, barium carbonate, and talc were used as the main raw materials to prepare the alumina abrasion-resistant ceramic balls to be used in the powder grinding mill for manufacture of architecture tiles. The results showed that after proper formulation study, the spent FCC equilibrium catalyst could replace industrial alumina to prepare high performance grinding balls. Meanwhile, the various performance indices of the grinding ball could meet the quality standard for similar products, and additionally, the energy saving effect was achieved in the operation of the grinding section, resulting in a successful comprehensive utilization of solid wastes.