Supported nanometric platinum–nickel catalysts for solvent-free hydrogenation of tetralin

• The bimetallic catalysts were synthesized by a galvanic replacement reaction.
• The Pt–Ni/AC catalysts exhibited a high activity for the tetralin hydrogenation.
• A tetralin conversion of 99.1% with 98.6% decalin selectivity was achieved.
• The bimetallic Pt–Ni/AC catalysts exhibited outstanding stability.

This paper aims to report a method of synthesizing alloyed platinum-nickel nanoclusters on activated carbon to enhance its hydrogenation performance of tetralin without adding solvents. The activated carbon provides a high surface area, while the highly-dispersed platinum acts as the hydrogen adsorption and dissociation site, in addition the Ni can alloy with Pt to induce more electron deficiency. Due to such favorable conditions, the bimetallic Pt–Ni/AC catalysts show good conversion and selectivity for hydrogenation of tetralin within a very short time. Furthermore, after six consecutive cycles, no prominent fluctuations in activity and selectivity are observed. Thus, the supported platinum–nickel nanocatalysts with excellent efficiency and prolonged lifetime for tetralin hydrogenation harbors great significance for future nanocatalyst design.

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