Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2014, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (4): 546-552.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(14)60028-0

• Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Promotion of Ni/clay catalytic activity for hydrogenation of naphthalene by organic modification of clay

Shibiao Ren, Hongzhi Wen, Xianzhong Cao, Zhicai Wang, Zhiping Lei, Chunxiu Pan, Shigang Kang, Hengfu Shui   

  1. Anhui Key Laboratory of Clean Coal Conversion and Utilization, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Ma'anshan 243002, Anhui, China
  • Received:2013-12-07 Revised:2014-01-07 Online:2014-03-20 Published:2014-03-21
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by the Project of Coal Joint Fund from Natural Science Foundation of China and Shenhua Group Corporation Limited (U1361125, U1261208), the Natural Scientific Foundation of China (21176001,51174254), the Provincial Innovative Group for Processing & Clean Utilization of Coal Resource, and Innovative Research Team in Anhui University of Technology.

Abstract:

A Ni/montmorillonite (MMT) catalyst was prepared by an impregnation method using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-pillared MMT as the supporting matrix and was characterized using infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, H2 temperature-programmed desorption, N2 adsorption-desorption, and ultraviolet diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The catalytic activity of the Ni/MMT for the hydrogenation of naphthalene was also evaluated. The results show that the organic modification of MMT greatly improved the Ni dispersion and textural properties of the Ni/MMT catalyst. The as-prepared Ni/MMT catalyst showed high naphthalene conversion (88.2%) in the hydrogenation reaction; this is much higher than those achieved using Ni supported on pristine MMT (13.1%), Al2O3-pillared MMT (24.2%), and SBA-15 (68.2%). As a result of thermal decomposition of CTAB pillars during reduction of the Ni/MMT catalyst, the CTAB pillars mainly play a role in the Ni/MMT catalyst during impregnation. A mechanism for the promotion of the Ni/MMT catalytic activity by organic modification during impregnation is proposed.

Key words: Nickel, Organic montmorillonite, High activity, Naphthalene, Hydrogenation