Preparation and Characterization of NiB Amorphous Alloy Modified Using Chitosan

NiB amorphous alloy catalyst (NiB-CS) was prepared by direct reduction using the chemical-reduction method with chitosan as a stabilizer. The amorphous structure, atomic composition, and particle size of the as-prepared catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The catalytic behavior during the hydrogenation of furfuryl alcohol (FA) to tetrafurfural alcohol (THFA) was studied and compared with the NiB catalyst prepared without chitosan. The amorphous NiB-CS catalyst was found to be more reactive than the NiB catalyst. The superior catalytic activity of the NiB-CS catalyst is attributed to the small NiB particles and the high surface content of Ni active species.