The invention has as its object a catalyst that comprises a substrate based on alumina or silica or silica-alumina, at least one element from group VIII, at least one element from group VIB, and at least one additive that is selected from among 2-acetylbutyrolactone and/or its hydrolysis products, 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-oxobutanoic acid, and 3-hydroxy-2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-butenoic acid. The invention also relates to the method for preparation of said catalyst and its use in a method for hydrotreatment and/or hydrocracking.

A catalyst system has been designed that disrupts the sedimentation process. The catalyst system achieves this by saturating key feed components before the feed components are stripped into their incompatible aromatic cores. The efficacy of this disruptive catalyst system is particularly evident in a hydrocracker configuration that runs in two-stage-recycle operation. The catalyst is a self-supported multi-metallic catalyst prepared from a precursor in the hydroxide form, and the catalyst must be toward the top level of the second stage of the two-stage system.

Surface hydroxyl groups on porous and nonporous metal oxides, such as silica gel and alumina, were metalated with catalyst precursors, such as complexes of earth abundant metals (e.g., Fe, Co, Cr, Ni, Cu, Mn and Mg). The metalated metal oxide catalysts provide a versatile family of recyclable and reusable single-site solid catalysts for catalyzing a variety of organic transformations. The catalysts can also be integrated into a flow reactor or a supercritical fluid reactor.

Provided are an electron donor that is easy to handle and can be used to carry out a coupling reaction economically and efficiently through simple operations under mild conditions in a short period of time, and a method for synthesizing 4,4-bipyridine using the electron donor. The electron donor includes a mixture of a dispersion product obtained by dispersing sodium in a dispersion solvent and 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, and this electron donor is used in the method for synthesizing 4,4-bipyridine.

A method of forming a composite zeolite catalyst includes combining a silicon source and an aqueous organic structure directing agent having a polyamino cation compound to form a silica intermediary gel, introducing an aluminum precursor to the silica intermediary gel to form a catalyst precursor gel, evaporating water in the catalyst precursor gel to form a catalyst gel, and heating the catalyst gel to form a composite zeolite catalyst particle having an intergrowth region with a mixture of both Beta crystals and ZSM-5 crystals. An associated method of making xylene includes feeding heavy reformate to a reactor, the reactor containing the composite zeolite catalyst, and producing xylene by simultaneously performing dealkylation and transalkylation of the heavy reformate in the reactor, where each composite zeolite catalyst particle is able to catalyze both the dealkylation and transalkylation reactions.

The invention relates to polyoxometalates represented by the formula (A.sub.n).sup.m+[MM.sub.12O.sub.y(RCOO).sub.zH.sub.q].sup.m or solvates thereof, corresponding supported polyoxometalates, and processes for their preparation, as well as corresponding metal clusters, optionally in the form of a dispersion in a liquid carrier medium or immobilized on a solid support, and processes for their preparation, as well as their use in reductive conversion of organic substrate.

A compound represented by the structure of formula (I): ##STR00001## The compound is useful as a ligand for ruthenium to form an organometallic complex. The complex may be immobilized on an oxidic support to form an active, heterogeneous catalyst for the hydrogenolysis of amides to form amines and optionally alcohols.

The present invention relates to kinetic resolution of racemic -hydroxyl ester via asymmetric catalytic hydrogenation and an application thereof. In the presence of chiral spiro pyridyl phosphine ligand Iridium catalyst and base, racemic -hydroxyl esters were subjected to asymmetric catalytic hydrogenation to obtain extent optical purity chiral -hydroxyl esters and corresponding 1,5-diols. An optically active chiral -hydroxyl ester and 1,5-diols can be obtained at very high enantioselectivity and yield with relatively low usage of catalyst. The chiral -hydroxyl ester and 1,5-diols obtained by using the method can be used as a critical raw material for asymmetric synthesis of chiral drugs (R)-lisofylline and natural drugs (+)-civet, ()-indolizidine 167B and ()-coniine.

A supported catalyst, its method of preparation and use in hydrogenation methods, which catalyst contains an oxide substrate that is for the most part calcined aluminum and an active phase that contains nickel, with the nickel content between 5 and 65% by weight in relation to the total mass of the catalyst, with the active phase not containing a metal from group VIB, the nickel particles having a diameter that is less than or equal to 20 nm, the catalyst having a median mesopore diameter of between 14 nm and 30 nm, a median macropore diameter of between 50 and 200 nm, a mesopore volume that is measured by mercury porosimetry that is greater than or equal to 0.40 mL/g, and a total pore volume that is measured by mercury porosimetry that is greater than or equal to 0.42 mL/g.

Hydrogenation catalysts for aromatic hydrogenation including an organosilica material support, which is a polymer comprising independent units of a monomer of Formula [Z.sup.1OZ.sup.2OSiCH.sub.2].sub.3 (I), wherein each Z.sup.1 and Z.sup.2 independently represent a hydrogen atom, a C.sub.1-C.sub.4 alkyl group or a bond to a silicon atom of another monomer; and at least one catalyst metal are provided herein. Methods of making the hydrogenation catalysts and processes of using, e.g., aromatic hydrogenation, the hydrogenation catalyst are also provided herein.