A monometallic Ni and a bimetallic Ni-Fe catalyst were used in the aqueous phase hydrogenation of xylose in batch conditions (T = 50 -150 °C, PH2 = 10 -30 bar, xylose mass fraction in water = 3.7 -11.0 wt.%) to evidence the benefits of promoting Ni by Fe. The activity of the catalysts increased with temperature, but a temperature of 80 °C allowed minimizing nickel leaching at full conversion. The presence of reduced Fe at the surface of the bimetallic nanoparticles increased both the first-order apparent rate constant and the adsorption constant of xylose. The catalytic activity of Ni/SiO2 strongly declined and no deactivation was found for the Ni-Fe catalyst. A restructuring of the bimetallic nanoparticles took place, as the size of the metal particles and the Fe proportion in the surface layers increased, suggesting a flattening and coalescing of the particles over the silica surface.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.