Nickel Nanocatalyst Supported Single-Step Hydroconversion of Dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) into High Energy-Density Fuel, Exo-Tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene (Exo-THDCPD)

There are several chemical methods for the synthesis of high energy-density fuel, exotetrahydrodicyclopentadiene (exo-THDCPD), however, still there is a challenge to synthesize exo-THDCPD conveniently. In present work, the exo-THDCPD from dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) has successfully synthesized through simplest and greener single step hydroconversion reaction over mesoporous supported nickel nanocatalyst (Ni/MCM-41). The reaction performed in autoclave under a hydrogen pressure ranging from 300–400 (Psi), temperature range 130–150 °C and progress has been monitored by gas chromatography which reveals that the reaction mechanism goes through dissociation-recombination of DCPD. The major reaction parameters such as temperature, pressure and nanocatalyst have been experimentally examined for the yield (85%) of the product. The structural analysis of exo-THDCPD is carried out by ¹H NMR and FTIR techniques and the physicochemical properties have also been evaluated. Good quality nanocatalyst Ni/MCM-41 has been synthesized by impregnation incipient wetness method and characterized by XRD, EDAX, TEM, and BET techniques. The nanocatalyst is highly reactive due to its mesoporous structure having appropriate size and shape which gives free diffusion of the molecules. Repeatability of the nanocatalyst shows good reactivity up to the four runs.