Regulating metal and acid sites of PtNi / RFE bifunctional catalyst for efficient n ‐dodecane isomerization

Abstract Herein, highly dispersed NiPt supported RFE catalysts were synthesized via a strong electrostatic adsorption (SEA) strategy, and their catalytic performances were evaluated for n ‐dodecane isomerization. Experimental results revealed that the deprotonated surface hydroxyl groups effectively inhibited the sintering of PtNi nanoparticles, while Ni incorporation significantly modulated the electronic structure and enhanced the dispersion of Pt particles. Under reaction conditions of 2 MPa, 300°C, and WHSV = 2.0 h −1 , Ni‐Pt/RFE obtained 92.1% n ‐dodecane conversion and 78.6% iso‐dodecane selectivity, with 50.2% monobranched isomer selectivity, which was notably superior to that of Ni/RFE and Pt/RFE counterparts. Kinetic results further showed that the high Lewis acid density of Ni‐Pt/RFE helped to stabilize the intermediates with specific electronic configurations, thereby facilitating the sequential reaction pathway from monobranched to multibranched isomers. Concurrently, the lower Brønsted acid density suppressed the cracking route of n ‐dodecane. These combined factors contributed to the enhanced catalytic isomerization performance of the Ni‐Pt/RFE catalyst.