Metal complexes supported on activated carbon as catalysts for the hydrogenation of anthracene

Abstract

Abstract In this work, the catalytic activity was investigated in the hydrogenation of anthracene by BaSO3 and Cu(II), Zn(II) and Ni(II) complexes that contain the ligand bis(3,5-dimethyl-1-pyrazolyl) methane (L). The compounds were supported on activated carbon (AC) and studied as catalysts for the hydrogenation of anthracene over different temperatures and reaction times. The supported catalysts (Cat/AC) were prepared by direct impregnation on the support and characterized by surface area determination, FTIR spectroscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction and pore size distribution analysis. The results showed high conversions and selectivity toward hydrogenated products, where the highest value was obtained using LNiCl2/AC and the lowest with BaSO3/AC. It was established that the selectivity for Tetrahydroanthracene was more highest quantity as a product of hydrogenation using Cat/AC which is dependent of the temperature, reaching a peak at 450 °C. At this temperature and with very short reaction times, the catalytic activity is influenced mainly by the chemical characteristics of the metal in the complexes and the AC support.