Hydrogenation of anthracene over active carbon-supported nickel catalyst

Abstract

Hydrogen transfer behavior over active carbon and carbon-supported Ni catalyst was examined in the hydrogenation of anthracene with three kinds of hydrogen sources: hydrogen gas, hydrogen-donor tetralin and the combination of both. In tetralin, active carbon itself provided higher conversions of anthracene in the temperature range of 350–400°C than Ni/C catalyst, while under the pressure of hydrogen gas, the addition of Ni metal onto active carbon remarkably promoted the hydrogenation of anthracene, providing a complete conversion at 300°C. When both tetralin and hydrogen gas were used together, an apparent improvement in both conversion and product distribution was observed with active carbon, whereas with Ni/C catalyst, the rate of hydrogen consumed in the hydrogenation was apparently low in the temperature range of 300–320°C, compared to that observed at the same temperatures using hydrogen gas alone.