Synthesis of Nickel/UIO-66 Catalyst for the ODH Process of Propane at Low-Temperatures

In this paper, the possibility of using Metal-organic framework UIO-66 in the propane ODH process at low temperatures was investigated. In this process, Nickel (Ni) was used as the main catalyst with the loading of 5, 15 and 25 (wt%) on support and O2 gas as oxidant. In order to accurately examine and determine the optimal state, the experimental design during the work was assisted. The effect of three parameters such as reaction temperature, Volumetric flow rate (sccm) and Ni loading (wt%) at three levels of -1, 0 and +1 was investigated. For better dispersion of nickel catalyst on the synthesized support, the ultrasonic method was used to synthesize the catalyst. As a result, it led to the top-loading of the catalyst with the form of a monolayer on the support. The catalyst structure was evaluated using various characterization methods including XRD, BET, SEM and EDX. In this study, the synthesized Metal-organic framework UIO-66 has a surface area of 1327.42 m2/g. Ultrasonic-synthesized nickel catalysts, due to their higher specific surface area and better nickel distribution on the synthesized catalyst, 17% by weight of vanadium oxide based on UIO-66 were able to 5.98% conversion and with 55.7% selectivity of propylene at 325 oC.