Effect of Re promoter on the structure and catalytic performance of Ni-Re/AlO catalysts for the reductive amination of monoethanolamine.

In this paper, Ni/AlO catalysts (15 wt% Ni) with different Re loadings were prepared to investigate the effect of Re on the structure and catalytic performance of Ni-Re/AlO catalysts for the reductive amination of monoethanolamine. Reaction results reveal that the conversion and ethylenediamine selectivity increase significantly with increasing Re loading up to 2 wt%. Ni-Re/AlO catalysts show excellent stability during the reductive amination reaction. The characterization of XRD, DR UV-Vis spectroscopy, H-TPR, and acidity-basicity measurements indicates that addition of Re improves the Ni dispersion, proportion of octahedral Ni species, reducibility, and acid strength for Ni-Re/AlO catalysts. The Ni15 and Ni15-Re2 catalysts were chosen for in-depth study. The results from SEM-BSE, TEM, and CO-TPD indicate that smaller Ni particle size and higher Ni surface area are obtained in the reduced Ni-Re/AlO catalysts. Results from XPS and STEM-EDX line scan suggest that Re species show a mixture of various valances and have a tendency to aggregate on the surface of Ni particles. During reaction, the Ni particles on the AlO support are stabilized and the sintering process is effectively suppressed by the incorporation of Re. It could be concluded that sufficient Ni sites, the collaborative effect of Ni-Re, and brilliant stability contribute to the excellent catalytic performance of Ni-Re/AlO catalysts for the reductive amination of monoethanolamine.