A series of tetragonal ZrO2 which support different crystalline size were prepared by methanol thermal method. Ni/ZrO2 catalysts with Ni content of 10%(mass) were prepared by impregnation method and applied in the liquid phase hydrogenation of maleic anhydride. All catalysts were characterized by N2 physical adsorption-desorption
H2-temperature programmed reduction(H2-TPR)
X-ray diffraction(XRD)
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(in situ FTIR). Higher dispersion and smaller crystallite size of metallic Ni favored the hydrogenation of C=C to produce succinic anhydride. While the formation of strong metal-support interaction contributed the hydrogenation of C=O to produce γ-butyrolactone. When methanol thermal time was 2 h
the Ni/ZrO2-2 catalyst showed the highest catalytic activity for C=O hydrogenation.