γ‐Alumina supported Cu‐Ni bimetallic catalysts: Characterization and selective hydrogenation of 1,3‐butadiene

Abstract Addition of a second metal often improves the selectivity of a supported catalyst for the hydrogenation of 1,3‐butadiene. Catalysts containing 15 wt% Ni and varying amounts of Cu were prepared and characterized by TPR, XRD and XPS. The Cu‐Ni interaction affects the reduction behavior of the catalysts. TPR result shows that the synergetic effect of copper and nickel modifies the capability of metal to combine with hydrogen in bulk phase. The Ni 2p spectra in XPS shows significant shifts toward lower binding energies with increasing copper loading. From XRD results it is represented that aggregation of nickel occurs more easily due to the copper addition. The adding of copper on Ni/Al 2 O 3 makes the conversion rate decreased and increases the selectivity to 1‐butene.