Thermal Anchoring Effect Regulates Selective Hydrogenation of 1,4-Butynediol Catalyzed by Ni/SBA-15

The Ni/SBA-15 catalysts were synthesized using the in situ method and the influence of crystallization temperature on nickel utilization efficiency—a critical factor in mesoporous material design—was systematically investigated. The structural characteristics and nickel anchoring capacity were analyzed using XRD, BET, FT-IR, H2-TPR, and ICP-OES. The results demonstrated that the crystallization temperature significantly affected the framework order of SBA-15 and the surface anchoring efficiency of Ni ions. The nickel utilization efficiency increased from 8.4% at 80 °C to 60.49% at 140 °C, but then decreased to 47.25% at 160 °C, indicating an optimal crystallization temperature window. This provides crucial guidance for tailoring high-performance metal-doped molecular sieves. The optimal catalyst exhibited excellent performance in the hydrogenation of 1,4-butynediol (BYD): the BYD conversion reached 97.25% with 88.99% selectivity of 1,4-butenediol (BED) within 5 h, and reached 99.73% with 87.34% selectivity of 1,4-butanediol (BDO) after 20 h reaction. These results revealed the critical role of crystallization temperature in metal utilization and provided theoretical support for designing highly active molecular sieve catalysts.