The main conclusions of this work can be summarized
as follows:
• The catalytic activity of Ni/Al-pillared saponite systems
depends both on nickel content as well as on
metal-support interactions.
• Favorable for the catalytic activity is nickel located
near the acid sites of the clay support and forming
larger interlayer patches up to a size that is still enabling
the access of benzene molecules to micropores.
• The results obtained by introducing various modifications
to the clay support, as far as its acidity
is concerned, suggest that the acid sites responsible
for both the extremely high activity of nickel on
Al-pillared saponite as well as its severe deactivation
are those present at the broken edges.