An efficient NiCu@C/Al 2 O 3 catalyst for selective hydrogenation of acetylene.

The development of non-noble metal catalysts for selective hydrogenation still remains a challenge. Herein, NiCu@carbon core-shell nanoparticles supported on Al 2 O 3 (NiCu@C/Al 2 O 3 ) were prepared, which showed enhanced catalytic performance of acetylene-selective hydrogenation in comparison with NiCu/Al 2 O 3 without carbon encapsulation. In detail, NiCu@C/Al 2 O 3 displayed high ethylene selectivity (>86%) even at an acetylene conversion of 100% and excellent stability (>90 h). Thus, NiCu@C/Al 2 O 3 exhibited great potential as an alternative to Pd-based catalysts for acetylene-selective hydrogenation.