Nickel catalysts were synthesized by incipient wetness impregnation and coprecipitation and compared to a commercial Ni/kieselguhr catalyst for selective hydrogenation of 2-methylnaphthalene to yield methyldecalin. The catalysts were characterized using N₂ physisorption, TGA, XRD, and TEM. The apparent activation energy for hydrogenation depends on the support identity, with the highest value (87 kJ/mol) obtained for Ni/SiO₂-Al₂O₃ and the lowest (30 kJ/mol) for Ni/kieselguhr. The selectivity to cis-/trans-methyldecalin varied as a function of both catalyst identity and reaction conditions, with high selectivity to cis-methyldecalin obtained using catalysts with higher Ni loadings and at lower reaction temperatures. The impregnation of a precious metal onto coprecipitated Ni catalysts also changed their selectivity, as catalysts containing ruthenium selectively formed cis-methyldecalin, whereas platinum catalysts produced mostly trans-methyldecalin. This research demonstrates that Ni catalysts can be useful for producing inexpensive catalysts for hydrogenation of polyaromatic-containing feedstocks.

镍催化剂是通过初湿浸渍和共沉淀合成的，并与用于 2-甲基萘选择性加氢生成甲基萘烷的商业镍/硅藻土催化剂进行比较。使用N ₂物理吸附、TGA、XRD和TEM表征催化剂。氢化的表观活化能取决于载体特性，Ni/SiO ₂ -Al ₂ O ₃获得的最高值 (87 kJ/mol)和 Ni/硅藻土的最低值 (30 kJ/mol)。的选择性顺式/反式-methyldecalin改变作为两个催化剂身份和反应条件的函数，具有高选择性的顺式使用具有较高镍负载量和较低反应温度的催化剂获得的甲基十氢化萘。将贵金属浸渍到共沉淀的 Ni 催化剂上也改变了它们的选择性，因为含有钌的催化剂选择性地形成顺式甲基萘烷，而铂催化剂主要产生反式甲基萘烷。该研究表明，Ni 催化剂可用于生产用于含多芳烃原料加氢的廉价催化剂。