Supported Nickel‐based Catalysts for Heterogeneous Hydrogenation of Aromatics

Abstract Aromatic hydrocarbons are carcinogenic and can induce mutations in living organisms, posing a threat to the ecological environment and human life and health. Catalytic hydrogenation of aromatics to reduce the saturation of aromatics not only reduces their toxicity, but also greatly increases their potential value. Compared with the unsupported catalysts with only active components, the supported metal catalysts have higher catalytic activity and better selectivity, the catalytic activity of the hydrogenation reaction depends on the metal active phase and catalyst support. On metal/acid catalysts, the metal active center and nearby acid sites are involved in the conversion of aromatics, the active hydrogen leaking from the metal center can hydrogenate the adsorbed aromatics at the acid site. This paper reviews the recent research progress of nickel‐based catalysts for aromatic hydrocarbon catalytic hydrogenation and discusses the development prospects and challenges faced by non‐precious metal catalysts. In addition, the sulfur tolerance and hydrogen storage properties of catalysts for aromatics are reviewed.