The invention discloses preparation of a nano
nickel-based catalyst and application of the nano
nickel-based catalyst in preparation of tert-
butylamine ethoxyethanol (TBEE). The catalyst is prepared by combining an
ammonia distillation method with a direct reduction process: taking a nano
metal oxide (MO, selected from SnO2, ZrO2, Al2O3 and SiO2) as a carrier, reacting a
nickel salt, an auxiliary agent salt (auxiliary agents are Fe, Co, Ce and La) and an
ammonia source (
ammonia water or
urea) at 50-150 DEG C for 5-48 hours to form a precursor, washing and
drying, and directly reducing in a
hydrogen atmosphere at 250-550 DEG C for 2-6 hours to obtain the catalyst. According to the catalyst, the interaction of nickel-auxiliary-carrier interface electrons is enhanced through the ammonia
distillation effect, nickel
electron distribution is regulated and controlled, and high-dispersion nano active sites are formed. When the catalyst is applied to a reaction for synthesizing TBEE from
diethylene glycol and tert-
butylamine, under the conditions of a
solvent-
free system, the
hydrogen pressure of 1-4 MPa and the temperature of 140-180 DEG C, the conversion rate of
diethylene glycol is greater than or equal to 77%, the selectivity of TBEE is greater than or equal to 89%, and the selectivity is improved by more than 25% compared with that of a catalyst prepared by a traditional
precipitation method.