Crystal-Plane and Shape Influences of Nanoscale CeO2 on the Activity of Ni/CeO2 Catalysts for Maleic Anhydride Hydrogenation

Through use of the hydrothermal technique, various shaped CeO₂ supports, such as nanocubes (CeO₂-C), nanorods (CeO₂-R), and nanoparticles (CeO₂-P), were synthesized and employed for supporting Ni species as catalysts for a maleic anhydride hydrogenation (MAH) reaction. The achievements of this characterization illustrate that Ni atoms are capable of being incorporated into crystal lattices and can occupy the vacant sites on the CeO₂ surface, which leads to an enhancement of oxygen vacancies. The results of the MAH reaction show that the morphology and shape of CeO₂ play an important role in the catalytic performance of the MAH reaction. The catalyst for the rod-like CeO₂-R obtains a higher catalytic activity than the other two catalysts. It can be concluded that the higher catalytic performances of rod-like CeO₂-R sample should be attributed to the higher dispersion of Ni particles, stronger support-metal interaction, more oxygen vacancies, and the lattice oxygen mobility. The research on the performances of morphology-dependent Ni/CeO₂ catalysts as well as the relative reaction strategy of MAH will be remarkably advantageous for developing novel catalysts for MA hydrogenation.