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Nickel(II) Nitrate vs. Acetate: Influence of the Precursor on the Structure and Reducibility of Ni/MCM‐41 and Ni/Al‐MCM‐41 Catalysts
Author(s) -
Marceau Eric,
Che Michel,
Čejka Jiří,
Zukal Arnošt
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
chemcatchem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.497
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1867-3899
pISSN - 1867-3880
DOI - 10.1002/cctc.200900289
Subject(s) - nickel , catalysis , inorganic chemistry , mesoporous material , mcm 41 , silicate , metal , decomposition , chemistry , solubility , materials science , organic chemistry
Nickel(II) nitrate is the nickel precursor generally selected to prepare oxide‐supported catalysts, due to its low cost, high solubility in water and decomposition at moderate temperatures. However, its decomposition produces NO x , and it is known to melt and redistribute over the support upon heating, leading to poorly dispersed metal particles after reduction and to their partial expulsion from the porous support system. The benefits of using Ni II acetate as an alternative to Ni II nitrate are explored by investigating a series of model Ni catalysts (1–5 wt %) prepared from the mesoporous siliceous supports MCM‐41 and Al‐MCM‐41. The problems encountered with Ni II nitrate, in terms of particle size and redistribution of nickel, are not observed with Ni II acetate. In the case of MCM‐41‐supported systems, metal particles are well dispersed and remain located within the porous support. The higher pH of the impregnation solution, favoring electrostatic interactions between nickel ions and the support, may account for the higher metal dispersion. The formation of silicate‐like species in strong interaction with the support does not appear prominent on siliceous MCM‐41 when nickel acetate is the precursor, but seems to be enhanced for higher Ni contents. Finally, Al‐MCM‐41 supports are more sensitive to the exposure to nickel acetate than their siliceous analogues because acetate ions are able to extract Al ions from the support, resulting in a partial disruption of the support organization and to the formation of nickel silicate species.