Preparation and characterization of Ni/Ce-ZrO2/γ- Al2O3 Nanocatalysts with different molar ratio 0f Ce/Zr

The acidic nature of ZrO2 has been found to have an excellent effect on acid-catalyzed reaction. The acidic properties of ZrO2 modify the surface properties of this compound such as crystallinity, surface area and pore distribution. Aluminum alley based metal matrix composites are widely used for sliding wear applications because of their excellent wear resistant properties. Al2O3 particles were observed to refined the grains and were distributed homogeneously in the aluminum matrix. In this research, Ni/Ce-ZrO2/γ- AL2O3 nanocatalysts were prepared by impregnation method. The synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Morphology of the samples were studied by field emission scanning electron Microscope (FESEM) and the surface area of the catalysts were determined by BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) method. These catalysts were used for the hydrocracking. They showed excellent catalytic activity, stability, and some sulfur tolerance. The XRD patterns of the Ni/Ce-ZrO2/γ-Al2O3 catalysts showed the diffraction peak at 2θ =39.3o disappeared gradually, indicating the formation of the spinel structure NiAl2O4 between NiO and Al2O3 in the calcination process (JCPDS, 10-0339). The surface area of the catalyst is more than of the other catalyst with inverse ratio of cerium and zirconium metals. The obtained results showed that the particle size of the samples were nanometer scale and the surface area of the sample increased by increasing the amount of cerium.

Keywords:

Nanocatalysts , Zirconium oxide , Cerium , Nickel