investigation of acid and base treatment of halloysite on catalytic performance in poly-alpha-olefin hydrogenation reaction

Halloysite, a natural nanoclay with a tubular shape, were used as catalytic support in poly-alpha-olefins hydrogenation. to reduce the metal nanoparticles leaching, these nanoparticles were physically modified by using acid and base treatment. in this research, halloysite and acid and base treated counterparts, prepared through treatment with sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide for 72 h, were palladated to furnish catalysts for the hydrogenation of poly-alpha-olefins oil. the characteristics and catalytic activity of the two catalyst samples were compared. the results showed that acid-treatment significantly increases the specific surface area (116 m2/g) and pore volume (1.28 cm3/g) which induces the formation of fine particles within the lumen of hnt. furthermore, 1hnmr results showed that no peak in the hydrogenated oil graph was observed for the double bond of the oil structure which confirmed the successful oil hydrogenation.