Decalin dehydrogenation on active carbon supported Pt-Ni bimetallic catalysts

Pt-Ni bimetallic catalysts and their corresponding monometallic catalysts supported on active carbon were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation or chelating formaldehyde reduction. The effect of feed/catalyst ratio and the metal impregnation sequence for active carbon supported bimetallic nanoparticle on dehydrogenation activity of decalin was investigated. The results showed that the conversion of decalin increased up to 72% over 3%Pt/C catalyst when the feed/catalyst ratio reached 3.3 mL/g, under which condition the catalyst was in the liquid film state, having a higher temperature and larger contact area. The Pt-Ni/C bimetallic catalyst showed higher activity than either Pt/C or Ni/C monometallic catalyst. The impregnation sequence has a significant effect on the catalytic performance of three bimetallic supported catalysts. Pt first catalyst displayed the best dehydrogenation activity and selectivity to naphthalene. It reveals that the impregnation sequence more likely altered the location of active metal species and the formation of Pt-Ni bimetallic bond, which lead to the different catalytic behavior for decalin dehydrogenation.