Abstract: Ni@SiO₂ catalysts enable efficient hydrogenation of dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) to endo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene (endo-THDCPD), facilitating the high-yield production of high-density jet fuel JP-10. To scale up the production of Ni@SiO₂ catalysts to the hundred-kilogram level, the synthesis parameters were further optimized by investigating the effects of the silicon source, nickel source, and Si/Ni molar ratio on the catalyst structure and performance. The results show that using silica sol as the silicon source and nickel nitrate as the nickel precursor, with a Si/Ni molar ratio of 2, leads to improved Ni particle dispersion and a richer mesoporous structure in the Ni@SiO₂ catalyst. This catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic performance in DCPD hydrogenation, achieving both DCPD conversion and endo-THDCPD yield exceeding 99.9%, with no significant deactivation observed after 2820 h of continuous operation.

Key words: Ni@SiO₂ catalyst, dicyclopentadiene, hydrogenation, endo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene, exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene, jet fuel