Acetylene hydrogenation on Ni–Al–Cr oxide catalysts: the role of added Zn

Ni-containing catalysts for selective acetylene hydrogenation to ethylene have been prepared by controlled calcination of hydrotalcite-like precursors. In addition to Ni and Al, Cr and Zn were added to improve the catalytic performance. The hydrotalcite-like precursors and the calcined catalysts have been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, FT-IR and Vis–UV/Diffuse Reflectance spectroscopies, temperature-programmed reduction, and specific surface area assessment by nitrogen adsorption at 77 K. Despite addition of Zn hinders coke formation, the activity to gaseous products decreases as the Ni content is increased. An increase in coke concentration increases activity and selectivity to ethylene, specially in those samples with not too high Ni contents. The highest selectivity to ethylene is achieved for Zn/Ni≈4 (molar ratio).