Characterization and catalytic activity of Ni/SBA-15, synthesized by deposition–precipitation

SBA-15 was synthesized and used as support for a Ni catalyst prepared by deposition–precipitation (D–P). Support and catalyst were characterized by nitrogen physisorption, XRD, HREM and temperature programmed reduction (TPR). The results show that, at the Ni loading used here (10.3 wt% Ni), SBA-15 preserves its hexagonal porous arrangement. After the D–P process, the Ni phases deposited on SBA-15 were 1:1 nickel phyllosilicate and nickel hydroxide. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations and the evaluation of the reduced catalyst in the hydrogenation of naphthalene showed that with the D–P synthesis method it is possible to obtain Ni/SBA-15 catalysts with high dispersion and metal loading. The catalyst obtained by D–P showed higher activity in the hydrogenation of naphthalene than one prepared similarly but using MCM-41 as support.