Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2012, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (8): 1374-1382.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1088.2012.20324

• Research papers • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Preparation and Characterization of Ni-La-B Amorphous Alloy Catalyst for Low-Pressure Dinitrotoluene Hydrogenation

YAN Shaowei1,2, FAN Hui2, LIANG Chuan1, LI Zhong1,*, YU Zhihui1   

  1. 1Key Laboratory of Coal Science and Technology, Ministry of Education and Shanxi Province, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, Shanxi, China; 2Center of Technology, Sedin Engineering Company Limited, Taiyuan 030024, Shanxi, China
  • Received:2012-03-13 Revised:2012-05-10 Online:2012-08-01 Published:2012-08-01

Abstract: Ni-La-B amorphous alloy catalyst was prepared by KBH4 reduction for liquid phase hydrogenation of dinitrotoluene (DNT) to diaminotoluene (DAT). The effect of La content on microstructure and catalytic performance of Ni-La-B amorphous alloy catalyst for DNT hydrogenation was investigated. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy, and H2 temperature-programmed desorption. The results showed that the addition of La could enhance the degree of long-range disorder, reduce the particle diameter from 70 to 10 nm, weaken the strength of Ni–H bond, and improve the thermal stability and antioxidation. The increasing of La addition from 0 to 6% (molar fraction) led to the enhancement of catalytic performance. When the addition of La was 0.6%, Ni-La-B catalyst exhibited the highest performance for low-pressure (1 MPa) DNT hydrogenation, the conversion of DNT and selectivity for DAT reached 100%. Further increasing of La addition from 6% to 8% led to decrease of the surface Ni content and the catalytic activity obviously.

Key words: dinitrotoluene, diaminotoluene, amorphous alloy, nikel-based catalyst, lanthanum modification