Facile in situ Encapsulation of Highly Dispersed Ni@MCM‐41 for the Trans‐Decalin Production from Hydrogenation of Naphthalene at Low Temperature

Abstract Ni@MCM‐41 catalyst that has uniformly distributed, highly dispersed Ni nanoparticles (about 2.3 nm) was designed and successfully synthesized by in situ encapsulation of Ni in the channels of MCM‐41. This catalyst exhibits excellent thermal stability and hydrogenation activity. Water insoluble nickel acetylacetonate (Ni(acac) 2 ) was first dissolved aqueous solution of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and encapsulated in micelles of CTAB. Sodium silicate was used as a silicon source to rapidly hydrolyze and then wrap on the micelle surface to synthesize the MCM‐41 zeolite. The MCM‐41 zeolite encapsulating Ni(acac) 2 was synthesized within a short time (4 h) at 120 °C. Compared with conventional supported catalysts, thus 3 wt.% Ni@MCM‐41 has ultra‐small uniformly distributed Ni nanoparticles and exhibits improved activity for the hydrogenation of naphthalene to decalin at very low reaction temperatures. The TOF and the apparent activation energy of Ni@MCM‐41 and the conventional catalysts (Ni/MCM‐41 and Pt/MCM‐41) were evaluated and compared. And the catalysis mechanism was analyzed. Furthermore, this Ni@MCM‐41 catalyst offers an additional advantage of selectivity in decalin isomerization; 92 % trans‐decalin selectivity was achieved at a wide temperature range.