Dispersion Of Active Components Research Articles

Influence of Brönsted Acid Sites on Activated Carbon-Based Catalyst for Acetylene Dimerization.

Activated carbon (AC) has been widely used as a support material with both tunable acidity and abundant functional groups for solid acid catalysts in various chemical processes such as acetylene dimerization. A facile, mild acid modification method that directly activates AC to generate rich defects and oxygen functional group surface structures with Brönsted acid sites and an enhanced conductivity is presented here. Impressively, the catalyst with optimized Brönsted acid sites and an enhanced dispersion of active components exhibited a superior acetylene dimerization catalytic activity. Moreover, theoretical calculations indicated that an increase in hydrogen concentration could inhibit the formation of coke. This research offered a feasible potential way to devise and construct a carbon-based solid acid catalyst with an excellent catalytic performance.

Enhancement low-temperature NH3-SCR activity of the Fe-Mn-Mo/TiO2 catalyst and its DFT calculations and kinetics

The 5 %Fe-3 %Mn-3 %Mo/TiO2 catalyst was prepared by impregnation method, and the effects of Mn, Mo doping on the structure and NH3-SCR performance of Fe-based catalysts were investigated. The 5 %Fe-3 %Mn-3 %Mo/TiO2 catalyst showed highest NH3-SCR activity (over 80 % NO conversion at 200–400 °C) and best long-time stability. Especially, the conversion rate of NO was 97 % at 250–300 °C. The introduction of Mn, Mo increased the surface acidity and redox ability of the 5 %Fe/TiO2 catalyst and improved the dispersion of active components (Fe). DFT calculations showed that the Mo-MnFe2O4 (311) surface over 5 %Fe-3 %Mn-3 %Mo/TiO2 catalyst had the strongest adsorption capacity for NO and NH3, which was more favorable for the SCR process, and this result was consistent with the NH3-SCR activity test. Kinetics results indicated the apparent activation energy of the 5 %Fe-3 %Mn-3 %Mo/TiO2 catalyst decreased by 39 % when compared to 5 %Fe/TiO2. It was evident that the addition of Mn and Mo reduced the apparent activation energy of the catalyst.

A Review of Mn-Based Catalysts for Abating NOx and CO in Low-Temperature Flue Gas: Performance and Mechanisms.

Mn-based catalysts have attracted significant attention in the field of catalytic research, particularly in NOx catalytic reductions and CO catalytic oxidation, owing to their good catalytic activity at low temperatures. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of Mn-based catalysts for the removal of NOx and CO. The effects of crystallinity, valence states, morphology, and active component dispersion on the catalytic performance of Mn-based catalysts are thoroughly reviewed. This review delves into the reaction mechanisms of Mn-based catalysts for NOx reduction, CO oxidation, and the simultaneous removal of NOx and CO. Finally, according to the catalytic performance of Mn-based catalysts and the challenges faced, a possible perspective and direction for Mn-based catalysts for abating NOx and CO is proposed. And we expect that this review can serve as a reference for the catalytic treatment of NOx and CO in future studies and applications.

The promotion effect of Pr doping on the catalytic performance of MnCeOx catalysts for low-temperature NH3-SCR

Using a one-step impregnation method, a series of Pr-modified MnCeOx catalysts with different Pr molar ratios were created to manufacture an efficient and effective catalyst for low-temperature NH3-SCR. It was demonstrated that the Pr modification could extensively boost the MnCeOx catalysts’ de-NOx activity and SO2 resistance and led to the formation of a unique broom-like morphology, especially when the molar ratio of Pr/Mn = 0.3, the MnCePrOx-0.3 exhibited above 90 % NO conversion at 250 °C with the existence of 100 ppm SO2. According to the characterization results, the enhancement of Pr doping for MnCeOx catalysts was mainly manifested by the expanded specific surface area, the improved dispersion of active components, the enhanced surface acidity and redox ability, and the generated more chemisorbed oxygen (Oads) species. All these characteristics allowed the NH3-SCR reaction over MnCePrOx-0.3 catalysts to proceed through the both Eley-Rideal (E-R) and Langmuir-hinshelwood (L-H) mechanism.

Principle on Selecting the Coordination Ligands of Palladium Precursors Encapsulated by Zeolite for an Efficient Purification of Formaldehyde at Ambient Temperature.

High-performance zeolite-supported noble metal catalysts with low loading and high dispersion of active components are the most promising materials for achieving the complete oxidation of formaldehyde (HCHO) at room temperature. In this work, palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) with different sizes were successfully encapsulated inside the silicalite-1 (S-1) zeolite framework by using diverse stabling ligands via the one-pot method. Thereafter, the rule on selecting the coordinative ligands for palladium was clarified: more N atoms, a short carbon chain, a smaller branch chain, and bidentate coordination are characteristics of an ideal ligand. Accordingly, the best-performing 0.2Pd@S-1(Ethylenediamine) catalyst exhibited outstanding performance for HCHO oxidation, achieving 100% conversion even at room temperature. High-resolution high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HR HAADF-STEM) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that the chelate is formed by complexation of Pd2+ ions with ethylenediamine, displaying the smallest spatial site resistance simultaneously with the zeolite synthesis, resulting in Pd located mostly within the 5-membered ring (5-MR) channels of S-1 after calcination, thus limiting the growth of Pd clusters and promoting their dispersion.

Production of jet fuel range hydrocarbons using a magnetic Ni–Fe/SAPO-11 catalyst for solvent-free hydrodeoxygenation of jatropha oil

A novel, multifunctional Nix–Fe/SAPO-11 catalyst was synthesized and characterized, and its activity was evaluated for the solvent-free hydrodeoxygenation of jatropha oil. The catalyst has a spherical structure and moderate acid strength, and exhibited excellent cyclization and deoxidation activity. The inclusion of iron facilitated the dispersion of active components. Consequently, the iron-nickel alloy particle size remained small, resulting in an optimal distribution of the product. The composition of the products is linear alkanes (59.83%), isoparaffins (4.16%), aromatics (8.41%), and naphthenes (12.03%), where jet fuel components are relatively high, accounting for 55.04% of C8–C16 hydrocarbons. Interestingly, the iron present in the catalyst allowed the use of an external magnetic field for the rapid separation and recycling of the catalyst. Despite multiple uses, the recycled catalyst maintained high activity following five cycles, with hydrocarbon content consistently above 85%. The synergic effect of the metallic and acid sites of the catalyst, let to realize one-pot hydrodeoxygenation, isomerization, aromatization, and cracking of substrate forming bio-jet fuel range hydrocarbons.

Study on desulfurization performance of Cu modified red mud-fly ash sorbent

In this paper, fly ash, red mud and Cu(NO3)2·3H2O were used to prepare Cu modified red mud-fly ash sorbent (CuRMFA) by hydration impregnation method, and the sorbent was used to remove SO2 from coal-fired flue gas. The effects of Cu loading and removal conditions (temperature, O2 concentration and NO concentration) on the desulfurization ability of sorbent were studied. The desulfurization performance and mechanism of CuRMFA were analyzed by experimental results and characterizations. The experimental results show that the sorbent CuRMFA can meet the ultra-low emission standard of SO2, and the optimal load of Cu is 20 mg/g. The optimal removal conditions were 500 ℃, 5% O2, 50 mg/m3 NO and 500 mg/m3 SO2, and when the desulfurization efficiency was greater than 93%, the breakthrough time and sulfur capacity were 65.5 min and 230.88 mg/g, respectively. The CuRMFA mainly removes SO2 by chemical reaction, and the desulfurized product exists in the form of SO42-. The conversion of Cu+ to Cu2+ can enhance the electron transfer, enhance the adsorption oxygen conversion and catalytic oxidation performance, which plays an important role in improving the desulfurization performance of the CuRMFA. That Cu modified RMFA is beneficial to form active component 2MgO·SiO2 and decompose of (CaO)12·(Al2O3)7, and can promote the uniform dispersion of active component, which is conducive to reducing the activation energy of desulfurization reaction and speeding up the reaction process.

Fabrication of highly dispersed Pd-Mn3O4 catalyst for efficient catalytic propane total oxidation

Adjusting the interaction between dual active components for enhancing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) degradation is an effective but still challenging means of air pollution control. Herein, a limited pyrolysis oxidation strategy was adopted to prepare Pd-Mn3O4 spinel catalysts with uniform morphology and active component dispersion. Among these, 1.08Pd-Mn3O4 presented the highest catalytic efficiency with a T90 value of 240 °C, which was 94 °C lower than that of Mn3O4. Characterization and density functional theory (DFT) calculation results revealed that the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) effect between Pd and Mn3O4 promoted the redistribution of surface charges, thus strengthening the oxidation-reduction ability of the active sites. Moreover, the SMSI effect led to a better migration of surface oxygen species, and boosted the generation of active surface oxygen species. Simultaneously, the Pd catalyst further reduced the energy barrier in the initial stage of the dehydrogenation of propane. Overall, this study provided a novel design strategy for dual active components catalysts with SMSI effect and extended the application of these catalysts in the important field of VOCs elimination.

Influence of support properties on selective oxidation of 2-methylnaphthalene on vanadia-molybdena based catalyst

In this work, the catalytic performance of vanadia-molybdena loaded on TiO2, MgO, ZSM-5, NaY and Mordenite was investigated in the selective oxidation of 2-methylnaphthalene (2-MN) to 2-naphthaldehyde (2-NA). Results show that strong interactions between supports (TiO2, ZSM-5) and active components can promote the dispersion of active component. Monolayer VOx and MoOx are the main form on the catalyst surface, which is beneficial to the 2-NA selectivity. However, the corresponding weak interactions between Mordenite and active components may lead to the production of oxide crystals and the separation of active components, thus reducing the 2-NA selectivity. Due to the high Na content, new crystal NaVMoO6 forms on the NaY surface, which is inactive in the reaction. For V-Mo/TiO2, V and Mo can be inserted into the TiO2 lattice, changing the electronic structures of active components and support and improving the activity of surface oxygen species. This investigation highlights an important consideration on supports properties when designing supported catalysts.

Carbon monoxide+ammonia coupling denitration at low temperatures over manganese–cerium/activated carbon catalysts

To identify the mechanism of the low-temperature CO + NH3 coupling selective catalytic reduction (SCR) denitration process, a series of Mn–Ce/activated carbon catalysts differing in the Ce content were prepared and characterized via SEM, EDS, XRD, XPS, FTIR and evaluated in the CO + NH3 coupling SCR denitration. The results show that the denitrification rates of Mn-Ce/AC catalysts are in the order of 7Mn-3Ce/AC > 7Mn-5Ce/AC > 7Mn-1Ce/AC at a temperature range of 150 °C–300 °C and an oxygen content of 9%. A moderate Ce content provides a smooth catalyst surface with a homogeneous distribution of metal particles and pores, resulting in the optimization of the physical and chemical performance of the Mn-based catalyst. As a result, more active oxygen species and lattice defects are formed, which promoted the dispersion of active components on the catalyst surface, increased the adsorption sites of CO and NH3, and provided more active sites for denitration reaction. Mn4+ and Ce3+ both increased to varying degrees, and oxygen-containing functional groups carboxyl and lactone groups increased, which promoted the synergistic reaction between MnCe, enhancing the NO adsorption and conversion rate. At 150 °C–250 °C, the CO + NH3 coupling denitration is mainly governed by physical adsorption, whereas chemical adsorption is the predominant mechanism at 250 °C–300 °C. The denitration process includes four stages: reaction gas adsorption, adsorption molecular dissociation, catalytic denitration of metal active components and product desorption.

Preparation of graphene supported Ni–Fe bimetallic nanocatalyst and its catalytic upgrading and viscosity reduction performance for heavy oil

Graphene supported single metal catalyst can improve the dispersion of active components and enhance the viscosity reduction effect of heavy oil. However, there is little research on graphene-supported bimetallic catalysts in the field of heavy oil upgrading and viscosity reduction. In this paper, super heavy oil of Liaohe Oilfield was taken as the research object. Graphene was selected as the carrier material, and nickel and iron chlorides were used as precursors. Graphene-supported nickel-iron bimetallic nanocatalysts were prepared by solvothermal method, and their synthesis feasibility was proved by microscopic characterization. Then the prepared catalyst was used in the evaluation experiment of catalytic upgrading and viscosity reduction performance of Liaohe heavy oil. By analyzing the parameters of oil samples before and after catalytic upgrading and viscosity reduction, the catalytic upgrading and viscosity reduction effect was evaluated and the viscosity reduction mechanism was revealed. The results showed that the viscosity reduction rate of heavy oil with graphene supported Ni–Fe bimetallic catalyst was 42.38%. With the aid of decalin, the viscosity reduction rate of heavy oil could reach 71.43%. At this time, the content of heavy components, the average molecular weight of heavy components and the aromaticity fA of oil samples decreased after catalytic upgrading and viscosity reduction, while the aromatic condensation degree HAU/CA and the branched chain index BI increased, and the modification effect was significant. Among them, the average molecular weight of asphaltene decreased from 2266 to 1444, with the most obvious decrease. The decrease of heteroatom content in asphaltene led to a significant decrease in intermolecular force and hydrogen bonding, which was the main reason for the catalytic upgrading and viscosity reduction of heavy oil by graphene supported Ni–Fe bimetallic catalyst.

Porous carbon nanofibers supported Zn@MnOx sorbents with high dispersion and loading content for hot coal gas desulfurization

Sorbent with a great quantity of highly dispersed active components is of importance to achieve excellent desulfurization performance. Thus, Zn@MnOx/porous carbon nanofibers (PCNFs) sorbent has been constructed via electrospinning, carbonization and hydrothermal techniques in this study. The as-prepared sorbent realizes a sulfur capacity of 9.63 g S 100 g−1 sorbent and a utilization 117% of ZnO, which can be attributed to the synergetic effects of the enlarged surface area of PCNFs and the uniformly distributed active components. The specific surface area of modified PCNFs is nearly five times higher than that of the pristine CNFs, providing larger loading area and more attachment sites for metal oxides. Activation with KMnO4 not only generates active component MnOx but also presets ‘seed’ for the attachment of Zn2+, which is beneficial for the high dispersion of active components. The presented method is beneficial to producing sorbents with better structure and promotes desulfurization performances.

Enhanced low-temperature activity and huimid-SO2 resistance of MnFe-based multi-oxide catalysts for the marine NH3-SCR reaction

Several MnFe-based multi-metal oxides were synthesized as NH3-SCR catalysts by a simple coprecipitation method for abating NOx of marine diesel exhausts. The Co and Nb-doped MnFeCeAl catalysts exhibit NOx conversion over 90% and N2 selectivity above 95% at 180–270 °C, especially the MnFeCeAlCo catalysts can inhibit nearly all sulfate species growth within 150 ppm humid-SO2 gases at 225 °C. The structural characterization results revealed that Co, Nb, Sm, and Sb doping can enhance interactions among different components and promote active component dispersion. Temperature programmed analysis indicated that the Co doping is not only more favorable for improving redox properties, but can also enhance the surface acidity, which are advantageous to improve the activity, N2 selectivity, and humid-SO2 resistance. Moreover, the XPS results implied that the binding energy shift or the valence variation of the Sm, Sb, Nb, and Co species on catalyst surfaces are favored to raise the atomic ratios of high-valent Mn species and surface adsorbed oxygen, which can promote the redox property significantly and further facilitate SCR activity. Accordingly, the excellent activity and humid-SO2 tolerance of the MnFeCeAlCo catalyst should attribute to its lower redox temperature, strong interaction between oxides, 47.3% surface Mn4+/Mn3+ species, and 71.8% adsorbed oxygen, which provide a method for improving the SCR performances of MnFe-based catalysts with humid SO2 resistance.

Construction of Highly Dispersed Cu–P/Cl Active Sites Using Methyldiphenyloxophosphine for Efficient Acetylene Hydrochlorination

To overcome the disadvantages of Cu-based catalysts, such as the low dispersion of active components and insufficient active species, several 15% Cu-Lx/AC catalysts for acetylene hydrochlorination were synthesized based on strong interactions between a ligand and CuCl2 precursors. The introduction of the methyldiphenyloxophosphine (MDPO) ligand effectively modulated the electronic properties of the metal centers, which contributed to the construction of a highly dispersed Cu–P/Cl local structure with Cu1+/Cu2+ as a plausible active center. The sintering of active components in the catalyst may be one of the main reasons for the decrease in catalytic performance. Meanwhile, the enhanced adsorption and activation of the catalyst for C2H2 and HCl molecules resulted in improved coking resistance. The most active catalyst (15% Cu8MDPO1/AC) could achieve a stable acetylene conversion of 97% at 180 °C, a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) (C2H2) of 180 h–1, and a feed volume ratio (VHCl/VC2H2) of 1.15, outperforming the benchmark catalyst. The excellent activity and stability in a 300 h laboratory test at a high GHSV and a 3414 h industrial sideline test at an industrial GHSV render the 15% Cu8MDPO1/AC catalyst as a reference for the construction of other catalysts from an environmental, economic, and application prospect perspective.

Co2P nanowire arrays anchored on a 3D porous reduced graphene oxide matrix embedded in nickel foam for a high-efficiency hydrogen evolution reaction.

Regulating the structural and interfacial properties of transition metal phosphides (TMPs) by coupling carbon-based materials with large surface areas to enhance hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance presents significant progress for water splitting technology. Herein, we constructed a composite substrate of a three-dimensional porous graphene oxide matrix (3D-GO) embedded in nickel foam (NF) to grow a Co2P electrocatalyst. Well-defined gladiolus-like Co2P nanowire arrays tightly anchored on the substrate show enhanced electrochemical characteristics for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) based on the promoting roles of 3D porous reduced GO (3D-rGO) derived from 3D-GO, which promotes the dispersion of active components, improves the rate of electron transfer, and facilitates the transport of water molecules. As a result, the obtained Co2P@3D-rGO/NF electrode exhibits superior HER activity in 1.0 M KOH media, achieving overpotentials of 36.5 and 264.7 mV at current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm-2, respectively. The electrode also has a low Tafel slope of 55.5 mV dec-1, a large electrochemical surface area, and small charge-transfer resistance, further revealing its mechanism of high intrinsic activity. Moreover, the electrode exhibits excellent HER stability and durability without surface morphology and chemical state changes.

CO2 Electroreduction on Carbon-Based Electrodes Functionalized with Molecular Organometallic Complexes—A Mini Review

Heterogeneous electrochemical CO2 reduction has potential advantages with respect to the homogeneous counterpart due to the easier recovery of products and catalysts, the relatively small amounts of catalyst necessary for efficient electrolysis, the longer lifetime of the catalysts, and the elimination of solubility problems. Unfortunately, several disadvantages are also present, including the difficulty of designing the optimized and best-performing catalysts by the appropriate choice of the ligands as well as a larger heterogeneity in the nature of the catalytic site that introduces differences in the mechanistic pathway and in electrogenerated products. The advantages of homogeneous and heterogeneous systems can be preserved by anchoring intact organometallic molecules on the electrode surface with the aim of increasing the dispersion of active components at a molecular level and facilitating the electron transfer to the electrocatalyst. Electrode functionalization can be obtained by non-covalent or covalent interactions and by direct electropolymerization on the electrode surface. A critical overview covering the very recent literature on CO2 electroreduction by intact organometallic complexes attached to the electrode is summarized herein, and particular attention is given to their catalytic performances. We hope this mini review can provide new insights into the development of more efficient CO2 electrocatalysts for real-life applications.

Boosting the catalytic performance of Fe/Zr catalyst by tungsten addition for selective catalytic reduction of NOx with ammonia

To clarify the effect of WO3 doping over Fe/Zr catalyst, several Fe/Zr-xW catalysts were prepared via conventional wet impregnation method, and the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) performance was studied. The Fe/Zr-0.1 W catalyst showed the highest catalytic activity and achieved nearly 100 % in a wide operating temperature window of 300–500 °C, and the N2 selectivity exceeded 90 % over the entire temperature range under a high hour space velocity of 90, 000 h−1. In addition, Fe/Zr-0.1 W catalyst also exhibited superior resistance to SO2 compared to Fe/Zr catalyst without WO3 introduction. Further characterization results indicated that the Fe/Zr-0.1 W catalyst possessed larger BET specific surface area, better dispersion of active component, higher concentration of Fe3+ and more surface chemisorbed oxygen species, which might be the predominant factors for its superior catalytic performance. More importantly, WO3 doping improved the redox capacity and surface acidity, thus promoting the redox circle and enhancing the adsorption ability of NH3. According to the transient in-situ DRIFTS experiment results, the doping of WO3 increased the L-H reaction pathway on the surface of Fe/Zr catalyst during the NH3-SCR reaction. The present work could provide a new way for developing a high-performance non-vanadium SCR catalyst in practical application.

Preparation of Mn-FeOX/ZSM-5 by high-gravity method for heterogeneous catalytic ozonation of nitrobenzene

Mn-FeOX/ZSM-5 is a good catalyst for wastewater treatment, but the conventional methods for preparing Mn-FeOX/ZSM-5 have the problems of non-uniform dispersion of active components and long preparation time. As the liquid-solid mass transfer process could be effectively increased in a high-gravity field, Mn-FeOX/ZSM-5 was prepared by high-gravity method in this study, and its properties were characterized by XRD, FTIR and SEM. The stability of Mn-FeOX/ZSM-5 and the loss of active components were investigated, and the mechanism of Mn-FeOX/ZSM-5 catalyzed the ozonation of nitrobenzene (NB) was also discussed. The results show that the specific surface area of Mn-FeOX/ZSM-5-h is 292.103 m2/g and the active components are well dispersed. Mn-FeOX/ZSM-5-h has the best catalytic activity under the conditions of precursor solution concentration = 0.3 mol/L, liquid flow rate = 60 L/h, and high gravity factor β = 30, and the removal efficiency of TOC reaches 87.5% within 25 min. The catalyst has good stability and only 1.10% of Mn and 0.63% of Fe are lost on average after 5 cycles. However, the removal rate of NB is significantly reduced with the addition of tert-butyl alcohol (TBA), implying that ·OH plays a dominant role in catalytic ozonation of NB by Mn-FeOX/ZSM-5. The electron paramagnetic resonance results confirm that ·OH is produced in the degradation process. In conclusion, Mn-FeOX/ZSM-5-h prepared by high-gravity method is a good catalyst for catalytic ozonation of NB because of its high catalytic activity and stability.

Modification of Activated Carbon and Its Application in Selective Hydrogenation of Naphthalene.

The MoS2/ACx catalyst for hydrogenation of naphthalene to tetralin was prepared with untreated and modified activated carbon (ACx) as support and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, scanning electron microscopy, temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scaning transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the modification of activated carbon by HNO3 changes the physical and chemical properties of activated carbon (AC), which mainly increases the micropore surface area of AC from 1091 to 1209 m2/g, increases the micropore volume of AC from 0.444 to 0.487 cm3/g, increases the oxygen-containing functional groups of AC from 5.46 to 7.52, and increases the acidity of catalysts from 365.7 to 559.2 mmol/g. The modified catalyst showed good catalytic performance, and the appropriate HNO3 concentration is very important for the modified of activated carbon. Among all the catalysts used in this study, the MoS2/AC3 catalyst could achieve the highest yield of tetralin. It can be attributed to the moderate acidity of the catalyst, reducing the cracking of hydrogenation products. Also, the proper hydrogenation activity of MoS2 and the appropriate increase of oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of modified activated carbon are beneficial to the dispersion of active components on the support, increasing the yield of tetralin. The catalytic performance of MoS2/AC3 is better than that of MoS2/Al2O3 catalyst, and the two catalysts show different hydrogenation paths of naphthalene.

A simple fabrication of mineral supported Ni-NiAl2O4 nanocomposites with a novel transition layer

In recent years, Ni-based catalysts have attracted widespread attention in many fields due to their low price and high catalytic activity. However, the low dispersion of active components has significantly restricted their large-scale application. In this work, we prepared a new type of sepiolite nanofibers loaded Ni-NiAl 2 O 4 composite by coupling the sol-gel and reduction methods, using nickel nitrate, aluminum nitrate and sepiolite nanofibers as the raw materials. To determine the optimal conditions for preparing the composite material, the effects of complexing agent, additives, sepiolite addition content, calcination temperature and time, and reduction temperature and time on the microstructure of the composite were systematically studied. With comprehensive characterizations, the optimal preparation conditions of the composite were determined. In the optimal composite, the NiAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles with a particle size of ~25 nm were uniformly dispersed on the sepiolite surface, and nickel nanoparticles with a size of 5 nm and well dispersion were rooting in the NiAl 2 O 4 particles. The NiAl 2 O 4 in the composite was acted as the nickel source and transition layer for the growth and dispersion of nickel particles, respectively. This work is expected to provide an effective strategy for the low-cost preparation of Ni-based catalysts, in which the novel transition layer can provide stable nickel particles with good dispersion. • A novel mineral supported nickel-based catalyst was prepared via a sol-gel reduction method. • Comprehensive characterizations were performed on the prepared materials. • The dispersion of NiAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles can be improved by sepiolite. • The NiAl 2 O 4 as a transition layer can provide nickel source for the subsequent reduction process.