Abstract
This work investigated the possibility of incorporation of nickel into several mesostructured cellular foam (MCF) silica supports prepared at various aging times (1, 2, and 3 days) by using deposition-precipitation method followed by reducetion process and to look for the best support to obtain supported nickel catalyst with highest nickel loading and smallest size of nickel nanoparticles. Analyses using nitrogen adsorption-desorption, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) showed that MCF silica prepared at aging time of 3 days was the best support as the corresponding nickel functionalized MCF catalyst had the highest nickel content (17.57 wt%) and the smallest size of nickel nanoparticles (1 - 2 nm) together with high porosity (window pore size of 90A). The result was attributed to the highest window pore size in the MCF support which allowed more nickel nanoparticles to be incorporated.
Highlights
Supported nickel catalysts as heterogeneous catalysts have attracted research attentions because of their potential application in many important petrochemical industries such as hydrogenation, deoxygenation, methanation, reforming, and hydrocracking
Analyses using nitrogen adsorption-desorption, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) showed that mesostructured cellular foam (MCF) silica prepared at aging time of 3 days was the best support as the corresponding nickel functionalized MCF catalyst had the highest nickel content (17.57 wt%) and the smallest size of nickel nanoparticles (1 - 2 nm) together with high porosity
The increase in window pore size with the increase in aging time in the synthesis of MCF silica materials was observed by the other researchers who studied the effects of acid concentration and aging time in preparation of MCF used for adsorption of biomolecules [27]
Summary
Supported nickel catalysts as heterogeneous catalysts have attracted research attentions because of their potential application in many important petrochemical industries such as hydrogenation, deoxygenation, methanation, reforming, and hydrocracking. Besides good nickel particle dispersion in the catalyst support, pore size is a crucial variable affecting the catalyst performance as the activity usually relies on the presence of accessible active centres located in the internal pore of the catalysts [1]. High dispersion of small particles of nickel and high porosity of the catalyst are always desirable. The main function of catalyst support is to achieve a fine dispersion of nickel nanoparticles and to prevent the nanoparticles from aggregating and the latter relies on confining nanosized environment of the catalyst [4]
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