Amination of ethanol to acetonitrile over Ni-doped Co/γ-Al2O3 catalyst

The amination of ethanol to acetonitrile proceeded effectively over a series of cobalt-based catalysts with γ-Al2O3 as a carrier in a fixed-bed reactor. The catalysts with the composition of Co20.1/γ-Al2O3 and Co19.9Ni3.0/γ-Al2O3 were characterized by XRD, XPS, TEM and N2 adsorption–desorption. For these catalysts, the doping of nickel salt led to high dispersion of the active species, increased the surface area of the catalyst and prevented the interaction of cobalt species with γ-Al2O3. The activity, selectivity, and stability of the catalyst were demonstrated, and acetonitrile was obtained with a yield >82% under the optimum reaction conditions for 720 h.