Nickel supported carbon nanofibers as an active and selective catalyst for the gas-phase hydrogenation of 2-tert-butylphenol.
Nickel supported fishbone carbon nanofibers (CNFs) have been prepared by vacuum impregnation (VI) and homogeneous deposition-precipitation (HDP) methods with different nickel loadings (ca. 5%, 9% and 12%) with the aim to study the influence of the metal incorporation method and the nickel loading in the catalytic activity of gas-phase hydrogenation of 2-tert-butylphenol (2-TBP). Moreover, the influence of the nature of the support was also studied by preparing nickel catalysts supported on other carbon (active carbon (AC) and graphite (G)) and non-carbonaceous materials (alumina (AL) and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)). Different techniques were employed to characterize both the supports and the final Ni catalysts: atomic absorption spectrometry, N(2) adsorption-desorption analysis, temperature-programed reduction (TPR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Catalytic results revealed that the nickel particle size and support properties affected directly to both the catalytic activity of hydrogenation of 2-TBP, and the rate of secondary reactions such as cis to trans isomerization and 2-tert-butylcyclohexanone (2-TBCN) hydrogenation.
Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Castilla-la Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain. joseantonio.diaz@uclm.es
José Antonio
JA
Díaz
Rebeca
R
Díaz-Moreno
Luz Sánchez
LS
Silva
Fernando
F
Dorado
Amaya
A
Romero
José Luis
JL
Valverde