Porous Ni@Tantalum Silicate as a Tandem Catalyst for Selective Synthesis of C4 Hydrocarbons from Ethanol

Selective catalysts for sustainable production of fuels and commodity chemicals are important due to the abundance of the raw materials in the nature. Most of these reactions require multiple active sites due to the complexity of the reactions involved. In view of this, we have synthesized a multifunctional catalyst for the selective synthesis of C4 hydrocarbons from ethanol. The reason for selecting ethanol is due to the easy production and transformation of biomass, and the heavy demand in future for fuels. Here, we have synthesized nanometer sized nickel particles and protected it with a porous siliceous cover. The acidity of the catalyst has been tuned by introducing tantalum in the framework structure. The use of easily available metals for the synthesis of catalysts reduces the cost of making the catalyst and it also gives high temperature resistance characteristics. The physico-chemical characteristics of the catalysts were studied with various sophisticated instruments. We also investigated in detail the selective production of C4 hydrocarbons, by tuning the reaction conditions.