Ni/MIL-120: An efficient metal–organic framework catalyst for hydrogenation of benzene to cyclohexane

A highly thermal stable metal–organic framework (MOF), MIL-120, was employed to incorporate low-cost nickel particles by simple impregnate method to obtain heterogeneous catalyst, Ni/MIL-120. The as-synthesized catalysts were evaluated by gas-phase benzene hydrogenation and exhibited excellent catalytic activities in comparison with classic Ni/Al2O3 catalyst. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), H2 temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) results indicated that Ni species were well dispersed on the MOF matrix and the interaction between the Ni species and the MOF-support was weaker than that between the metal species and Al2O3, which facilitated the catalytic performance of catalyst for benzene hydrogenation.

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► A stable MOF, MIL-120, was employed to incorporate Ni by impregnate method.
► The catalytic property of Ni/MIL-120 catalyst was studied using gas-phase benzene hydrogenation.
► NiO/MIL-120 showed great catalytic activity.