Enhanced Stability of Nickel Phyllosilicate Anchored Ni/SiO2 Catalyst for Liquid-Phase Hydrogenation and Hydrodeoxygenation

The aggregation and leaching of nanoparticles often reduce catalytic activity and hinder the long-term application of catalysts. Here, we synthesis a hollow Ni/SiO2-AEH catalyst with small Ni nanoparticles (NPs) encapsulated by nickel phyllosilicate (NiPS) via an ammonia evaporation-hydrothermal method. Compared with the Ni/SiO2-AE only synthesized via ammonia evaporation method, the Ni/SiO2-AEH catalyst after further hydrothermal treatment possesses more nickel phyllosilicate (NiPS) species, which enhances the stability of Ni NPs through the strong metal-support bonding (Si–O–Ni) in NiPS. By controlling the size of Ni NPs to 3.6 nm along with the presence of NiPS, we find that Ni/SiO2-AEH displays superior catalytic performance for maleic anhydride (MA) hydrogenation and vanillin hydrodeoxygenation, achieving yields of 97% for succinic anhydride (SA) and 99% for 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (MMP), respectively. Importantly, the deactivation of Ni/SiO2-AEH is remarkably suppressed, with only a slight decrease in activity after five or six runs. The excellent catalytic activity and stability of phyllosilicate materials imply an extensive application in other industrial catalytic reactions.