Preparation and characterization of Ni-B/SiO2sol amorphous catalyst and its catalytic activity for hydrogenation of nitrobenzene

• Ni-B amorphous catalyst was supported on the SiO2 sol.
• Ni-B amorphous catalyst exhibits excellent stability after supported on SiO2 sol.
• The specific surface area and pore volume of Ni-B were improved.

Supported Ni-B/SiO2sol amorphous alloy catalyst was prepared by a sol-gel and impregnation-chemical reduction method, and the effects of the tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and ammonia ratio, and the nickel loading amount on the nitrobenzene hydrogenation were also investigated. The results showed that Ni-B amorphous alloy catalyst supported on the silica sol increased the specific surface area of catalysts, improved the catalytic activity of Ni-B amorphous alloy catalyst, and the Ni species on the surface existed in the form of Ni2+. The optimal TEOS and ammonia ratio and nickel loading amount was 1.0 and 10%, respectively, and when using this optimal Ni-B/SiO2sol catalyst, the nitrobenzene conversion was 99.9% with an aniline selectivity of 99.8%, and after 5 recycles, the Ni-B/SiO2sol maintained a good stability.

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