Self-pillared ZSM-5-supported Ni nanoparticles as an efficient catalyst for upgrading oleic acid to aviation-fuel-range-alkanes

HZSM-5 zeolite has been extensively utilized in the petrochemical and fine chemical industry owing to its excellent isomerization/cracking activity and hydrothermal stability. However, it still remains a great challenge for ZSM-5-supported catalysts to upgrade vegetable oils to aviation-fuel-range-alkanes (AFRAs). Herein, an efficient Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst composed of self-pillared (SP) nanosheets along with high external acid fraction and short characteristic diffusion length was synthesized and employed for this reaction. This SP Ni/ZSM-5 nanosheet catalyst shows high deoxygenation, cracking/isomerization activity, and excellent catalytic stability for upgrading oleic acid to AFRAs, which is attributed to the SP nanosheet structure and reasonable acid distribution. Last, a high AFRA yield of 40% with an iso/n-alkanes ratio of 1.8 was achieved.