The Activity of Metal-Containing Catalysts Based on Mesoporous Carbon in the Conversion of N-Hexane

Microporous carbon sorbents are widely used in the purification of liquids and gases.A new modern direction in the development of carbonaceous materials is production of mesoporous carbon with varied properties.The aim of this work was to evaluate the activity of metal-containing mesoporous carbon samples with insignificant microporosity in the conversion of n-hexane.Mesoporous carbon was prepared by template synthesis using silica gel and furfural alcohol.In order to reduce the proportion of micropores in material, the process was carried out in two stages of additional saturation with furfural alcohol.The samples based on mesoporous carbon with nickel, palladium and two metals simultaneously were synthesized.By means of transmission electron microscopy, the size of metal particles on the surface of samples was determined.It was 2-4 nm for nickelcontaining sample, while it was 3.5-6 nm with inclusion of individual particles of up to 13 nm for palladium-containing samples.Lowtemperature nitrogen adsorption technique showed that the modification with palladium resulted in the formation of secondary mesoporosity.The starting carbonaceous material and nickelcontaining sample were found to be inactive in the micropulse conversion of n-hexane.At the same time, the process proceeded over palladium-containing samples in the direction of cracking, aromatization and isomerization of n-hexane, the product yields at 400-425 0 C being equal to 18-45%, 15-16% and 7-9%, respectively.