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.

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.

Effect of initial nickel particle size on stability of nickel catalysts for aqueous phase reforming

The deactivation behavior by crystallite growth of nickel nanoparticles on various supports（carbon nanofibers, zirconia, Si C, α-Al2O3 and γ-Al2O3） was investigated in the aqueous phase reforming of ethylene glycol. Supported Ni catalysts of ~10 wt% were prepared by impregnation of carbon nanofibers（CNF）,Zr O2, SiC, γ-Al2O3 and α-Al2O3. The extent of the Ni nanoparticle growth on various support materials follows the order CNF ~ ZrO2〉 SiC 〉 γ-Al2O3〉〉 α-Al2O3 which sequence, however, was determined by the initial Ni particle size. Based on the observed nickel leaching and the specific growth characteristics; the particle size distribution and the effect of loading on the growth rate, Ostwald ripening is suggested to be the main mechanism contributing to nickel particle growth. Remarkably, initially smaller Ni particles（~12 nm） supported on α-Al2O3 were found to outgrow Ni particles with initially larger size（~20 nm）. It is put forward that the higher susceptibility with respect to oxidation of the smaller Ni nanoparticles and differences in initial particle size distribution are responsible for this behavior.

Influence of the synthesis method parameters used to prepare nickel-based catalysts on the catalytic performance for the glycerol steam reforming reaction

The influence of the synthesis method parameters used to prepare nickel-based catalysts on the catalytic performance for the glycerol steam reforming reaction was studied.A series of Al2O3-supported Ni catalysts were synthesized,with nickel loading of 8 wt%,using the incipient wetness,wet impregnation,and modified equilibrium deposition filtration methods.The catalysts＇ surface and bulk properties were determined by inductively coupled plasma（ICP）,N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms（BET）,X-ray diffraction（XRD）,scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,transmission electron microscopy（TEM）,and temperature-programmed reduction（TPR）.Used catalysts were characterized by techniques such as elemental analysis and SEM in order to determine the level of carbon that was deposited and catalyst morphology.The results indicated that the synthesis method affected the textural,structural and surface properties of the catalysts,differentiating the dispersion and the kind of nickel species on alumina＇s surface.The formation of nickel aluminate phases was confirmed by the XRD and TPR analysis and the β-peak of the Ni/Al-edf catalyst was higher than in the other two catalysts,indicating that the nickel aluminate species of this catalyst were more reducible.Both Ni/Al-wet and Ni/Al-edf catalysts showed increasing CO2 selectivities and approximately constant CO selectivities for temperatures above 550℃,indicating that these catalysts successfully catalyze the water gas shift reaction.It was also confirmed that the Ni/Al-edf catalyst had the highest values for glycerol to gaseous products conversion,hydrogen yield,allyl alcohol,acetaldehyde,and acetic acid selectivities at 650℃ and the lowest carbon deposition of the catalysts tested.The correlation of the catalysts＇ structural properties,dispersion and reducibility with catalytic performance reveals that the EDF method can provide catalysts with higher specific surface area and active phase＇s dispersion,that are easier to reduce,more active and selective to hydrogen production,and more resistant to carbon deposition.