%D 2024 %R 10.1016/j.jiec.2024.05.032 %O cited By 0 %L scholars19997 %J Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry %X Hydrophobic Ni catalysts supported on three metal oxides coated with PTFE namely Ni/SiO2/PTFE, Ni/Cr2O3/PTFE, and Ni/Al2O3/PTFE were used in liquid-phase catalytic exchange (LPCE) reactions to enrich hydrogen isotope and produce deuterium oxide (heavy water). Wet impregnation method was employed to prepare the Ni/SiO2, Ni/Cr2O3, and Ni/Al2O3 before PTFE coating. The as prepared catalysts were characterized using different characterization techniques and their performances were evaluated in LPCE reaction using a continuous reactor. The performance evaluation based on the D2O yield can be ranked as Ni/Al2O3/PTFE > Ni/Cr2O3/PTFE > Ni/SiO2/PTFE > Ni/PTFE. The catalysts� performances are strongly associated with the crystallite size, particle size, hydrophobicity, surface area, pore size, and metal-support interaction. Since isotope exchange requires a dry catalyst surface, the catalyst's hydrophobicity plays a crucial role. In addition, the catalyst support improves the LPCE reaction efficiency, as the most efficient catalyst, Ni/Al2O3/PTFE, yielded 1220 ppm D2O, compared to 520 ppm for the benchmark catalyst, Ni/PTFE. The characterization results reveal that Ni/Al2O3/PTFE outperformed the other catalysts due to its low crystallite size (D = 23.04 nm), high hydrophobicity (WCA = 139.23°), higher surface area (16.31 m2g�1), small pores (pore size = 6.18 nm), and lowest average Ni particle size (40.89 nm). © 2024 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry %K Catalyst supports; Crystallite size; Deuterium; Hydrophobicity; Particle size, Exchange reaction; Hydrophobic catalysts; Hydrophobics; Liquid phase catalytic exchange; Ni catalysts; Ni/SiO 2; Nickel catalyst; Particles sizes; Synthesis and characterizations; ]+ catalyst, Heavy water %T Synthesis and characterization of hydrophobic nickel catalyst supported on different oxides for continuous liquid phase catalytic exchange reaction %A N. Diyan Mohd Ridzuan %A B. Victor Ayodele %A N. Najwa Abdul Talib %A M. Shima Shaharun %A A. Mohd Shariff %A K. Naim Ahmad