Synergism of the catalytic effect of nanosized gold-nickel catalysts in the reaction of selective acetylene hydrogenation to ethylene

Gold and nickel nanoclusters immobilized on aluminum oxide exhibited high activity in the reaction of acetylene hydrogenation to ethylene with molecular hydrogen at temperatures from 20 to 64°C. The reaction selectivity on Au-Ni nanocomposites with metal concentrations from 0.02 to 0.36 wt % was no lower than 99.99%, and the stability of catalysts was retained for at least 12 h. The simultaneous presence of gold and nickel in the systems resulted in the synergism of their catalytic effects: acetylene conversion on layer-by-layer immobilized metal clusters was higher than the total conversion on individual gold and nickel clusters. The dependence of the conversion of acetylene on bimetallic catalysts on the Au : Ni ratio exhibited an extremal character.