Hydrodeoxygenation of cyclopentanone over Ni–W–B amorphous catalyst: effect of Cr and Ce

Abstract

Cr and Ce promoted Ni–W–B amorphous catalysts were prepared by the chemical reduction method of the corresponding precursors with sodium borohydride. The resulting catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen sorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Adding Cr or Ce into Ni–W–B amorphous catalyst could increase the content of WO3 on the catalyst surface and then enhance its deoxygenation activity in the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of C=O in cyclopentanone. Ce–Ni–W–B exhibited higher HDO activity than Ni–W–B and Cr–Ni–W–B, which was attributed to its amorphous structure, higher relative content of Ni0, more electron transfer between Ni0 and B0, and more WO3 Bronsted acid sites on the catalyst surface. The pseudo-first order reaction rate constant of the cyclopentanone transformation on Ce–Ni–W–B amorphous catalyst was high to 0.31 mL/(g catalyst s). The HDO of cyclopentanone on these Ni–W–B amorphous catalysts proceeded with hydrogenation–dehydration route to produce cyclopentene and cyclopentane.