Synthesis, characterization and catalytic application of the nickel containing mesoporous silica

Ni-impregnated nickel over mesoporous silica with different Ni contents has been synthesized and the resulting samples were characterized by elemental analysis, N2 sorpometry at 77 K, XRD, TEM and temperature programmed reduction (TPR). The mesoporous nickel-containing materials showed both high activity and high selectivity for benzylation of benzene. More interesting is the observation that this catalyst is always active and selective for large molecules like naphthenic compounds such as methylnaphthalene and it can also be reused in the benzylation of benzene for several times.