Catalytic performance of Pt-Sn-B amorphous catalyst supported on carbon nanotubes for liquid-phase hydrogenation of chloronitrobenzene

The Pt-Sn-B/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) catalyst was prepared by impregnation-chemical reduction method. Its catalytic performance was evaluated by liquid-phase hydrogenation of chloronitrobenzene. The results showed that this catalyst had higher catalytic performance than common hydrogenation catalysts. The conversion of chloronitrobenzene reached 99.9% and the dechlorination of chloroaniline was less than 1.9% when catalyzed by Pt-Sn-B/CNTs, while the dechlorination of chloroaniline was more than 8% when catalyzed by common hydrogenation catalysts. XRD and selected area electron diffraction analysis showed that Pt-Sn-B/CNTs had amorphous alloy structure which could improve the catalytic performance. TEM image showed that the catalyst particles were highly distributed on the surface of CNTs. The hydrodechlorination of chloronitrobenzene was mainly affected by the unique structure of CNTs and the nature of amorphous metals on the surface of CNTs. The relationship between the interaction of CNTs and amorphous metals and the catalytic performance of the catalyst was discussed.