Preparation of Highly Effective Ni Foam Monolithic Catalysts by Electrolytic Deposition for Nitrobenzene Hydrogenation in a Micropacked Bed

An electrolytic deposition (ED) method is proposed to fabricate monolithic catalysts and applied for nitrobenzene (NB) hydrogenation in a micropacked bed (MPB). In contrast to the particle catalysts and monolithic catalysts with a suspension circulation (SC) method, the monolithic catalysts with the ED method have better uniformity for coatings and the active component. The investigation of overall external mass transfer performance reveals that the hydrogenation in MPBs with monolithic catalysts is significantly affected by external mass transfer. The catalysts with the ED method demonstrate high activity, selectivity, and stability in NB hydrogenation, and the activity is higher than that of particle catalysts and catalysts with the SC method. This ED method is universal and applicable for a variety of coatings, including Al2O3, SiO2, CeO2, and TiO2, and can provide more efficient monolithic catalysts for improving the hydrogenation performance in MPBs.