An investigation of promoter effects on metal catalysts in shaped Al2O3 supports used in heterogeneous catalysis

The increasing use of fossil fuels has led to a significant increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere, causing global warming. In order to mitigate the effects of global warming, hydrogenation reactions can nowadays be used to utilize CO2 consumption by converting waste CO2 into valuable chemicals. Ni catalysts are preferred in hydrogenation reactions due to their high activity, low cost and accessibility. Therefore, the development of Ni-based catalysts is of great industrial importance. This study investigates the synthesis and characterization of commercial spherical γ-Al2O3 supported Ni catalysts. Two groups of catalysts were prepared and analyzed. The first group focused on the effects of catalyst preparation conditions on 10 wt% Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts. The second group examined the promotion of these catalysts with alkali and rare earth elements (K, Mg, La, and Ce) using different combinations and loading amounts. XRD, SEM, EDX, XRF, TEM, FT-IR, BET, and TPR were employed to examine the behaviour and properties of the catalysts.