Effect of Pt incorporation into Ni/ZrO ₂-SO ₄ ⁼ /Al ₂O ₃ catalyst for n-butane isomerization

Three Ni/ZrO ₂-SO ₄ ⁼/Al ₂O ₃ catalysts with different concentrations of platinum (0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 wt%) were prepare and tested for n-butane isomerization reaction at 338 K, in absence and in presence of hydrogen. The results shown that, at low temperature, platinum contributes to the olefin or butyl ion formation and the reaction follows a bimolecular pathway. However, when the reaction occurs in the presence of hydrogen, the formation of butyl ions is inhibited. The main feature of platinum addition is the stabilization of the catalytic activity, which is indicated by the slow deactivation constants compared to that of the unpromoted catalyst.