Study on Sulfur Tolerance of Pd-Pt Catalyst Supported on Carbon Nanofibers for Hydrogenation of Naphthalene to Tetralin

Catalytically-grown carbon nanofibers of two different conformations，fishbone and parallel types of the arrangement of carbon layers，were employed as the support of Pd-Pt metal catalysts for the hydrogenation of naphthalene to tetralin. The sulfur tolerance of the catalyst system was investigated with the addition of 0. 05% thiophene to the reactant of naphthalene in the process. The dispersion of Pd-Pt metal particles on the support was observed with a HREM and a pulsed hydrogen chemisorption method. The hydrogenation reaction of naphthalene was carried out in a CSTR at 250℃ and with the hydrogen pressure of 6 MPa. The results showed that the Pd-Pt catalyst supported on the carbon nanofibers was active in the process. The Pd-Pt metal catalyst supported on the parallel carbon nanofibers showed a higher sulfur tolerance than that on the fishbone carbon nanofibers. The reason may be attributed to their different conformations of the carbon layers，which leads to the different interaction of carbon layers with the supported metal particles.