Effect of calcination temperature of Ni/SiO2-ZrO2 catalyst on its hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol

SiO2-ZrO2 composites were synthesized by chemical precipitation and used to prepare a series of bifunctional Ni/SiO2-ZrO2 catalysts by impregnation. The effect of calcination temperature on the catalyst structure and its catalysis of the hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol was investigated. Guaiacol was converted to cyclohexane by a synergism between the metal center and solid acid support. The catalyst calcined at 500 degrees C gave a maximum 100% guaiacol conversion and 96.8% selectivity for cyclohexane. The catalyst samples were characterized by N-2 adsorption, H-2 chemisorption, X-ray diffraction, H-2 temperature-programmed reduction, NH3 temperature-programmed desorption, and Raman spectroscopy. The synthesized SiO2-ZrO2 was an amorphous oxide. The Ni/SiO2-ZrO2 catalyst calcined at 500 degrees C has more acidity, smaller NiO particles, and larger BET surface area and pore volume, which gave it the best catalytic performance. (c) 2014, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.