Effect of calcination temperature of Ni/SiO2-ZrO2 catalyst on its hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol

Abstract

SiO 2 -ZrO 2 composites were synthesized by chemical precipitation and used to prepare a series of bifunctional Ni/SiO 2 -ZrO 2 catalysts by impregnation. The effect of calcination temperature on the catalyst structure and its catalysis of the hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol was investigated. Guaiacol was converted to cyclohexane by a synergism between the metal center and solid acid support. The catalyst calcined at 500 °C gave a maximum 100% guaiacol conversion and 96.8% selectivity for cyclohexane. The catalyst samples were characterized by N 2 adsorption, H 2 chemisorption, X-ray diffraction, H 2 temperature-programmed reduction, NH 3 temperature-programmed desorption, and Raman spectroscopy. The synthesized SiO 2 -ZrO 2 was an amorphous oxide. The Ni/SiO 2 -ZrO 2 catalyst calcined at 500 °C has more acidity, smaller NiO particles, and larger BET surface area and pore volume, which gave it the best catalytic performance. Cyclohexane was obtained with high selectivity by the hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol over a bifunctional Ni/SiO 2 -ZrO 2 catalyst. The catalytic performance was influenced significantly by the calcination temperature of the catalyst.