Effect of metal precursor and pretreatment conditions on\xa0the catalytic activity of Ni/C in\xa0the aqueous phase hydrodechlorination of 1,1,2-trichloroethene

Abstract

Active carbon supported nickel catalysts prepared with nickel(II) nitrate and nickel(II) chloride precursors after reduction at 673 or 1173 K were investigated in the aqueous phase hydrodechlorination of 1,1,2-trichloroethene (TCE). These nickel catalysts facilitate the purification of water via decomposing TCE, but their catalytic properties depend on the chemistry of the nickel precursor used for Ni/C synthesis and pretreatment conditions. The chemistry of precursor catalysts affects the particle size, which in turn is correlated with catalytic activity. We observed the highest activity for Ni/C with the largest nickel particles. The application of high temperature reduction of nickel precursors increases the activity and minimizes the differences between the catalytic properties of the samples prepared from different salts.