Ni and Cu based catalysts supported over Hbeta - Evaluation on hydrodesoxigenation of Benzaldehyde

For this purpose, monometallic (10 wt.% of NiO or CuO) and bimetallic catalysts with 10 wt.% of NiO with different CuO (2.5 %, 5 %, 7.5 % and 10 % by wt.) were synthesized. The reaction was carried out in batch reactor with magnetic stirring at 220 °C. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 physisorption, hydrogen temperature programmed (TPR-H2), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in ultraviolet and visible regions (DRSUV-Vis), thermogravimetric analysis (TG / DTG).

Results of the catalytic evaluation showed that the benzaldehyde was converted to benzyl alcohol, toluene and benzene. Ni10Cu7.5/Hbeta catalyst presented a conversion of 84.73 %, with selectivity to toluene around 91 %, presenting higher selectivity to deoxygenated products than Ni10Cu10/Hbeta, which can be related to the higher acidic sites present in the catalyst. The bimetallic catalysts were more active than the monometallic Ni and Cu.