Toluene hydrogenation over nickel-containing MCM-41 and Ti-MCM-41 materials

Nickel-containing MCM-41 and Ti-MCM-41 mesoporous materials with different amounts of nickel were prepared by one-pot, sol–gel synthesis. The properties of the nickel catalysts were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 physisorption, UV-Vis spectroscopy and temperature programmed reduction (TPR) methods. The catalysts have been tested in the gas phase hydrogenation of toluene. The formation of various nickel species due to the different metal-support interaction was assumed for both of the supports. Strong metal–support interaction was supposed when Ti-MCM-41 was used as a support. It has been shown that the reducibility and the catalytic activity of the catalysts is strongly influenced by the host.