Preparation of the Ni2P/Al-MCM-41 catalyst and its dibenzothiophene HDS performance

Abstract

Ni₂P/Al-MCM-41 catalysts were prepared under a lower reduction temperature of 400 °C and characterized by H₂ temperature-programmed reduction (H₂-TPR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N₂-adsorption specific surface area measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed pyridine (Py-FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and CO uptake. The influence of Al content on the structure and catalytic properties of hydrodesulfurization (HDS) was investigated. The results showed that an appropriate amount of Al could promote the formation of small sized crystalline Ni₂P; however, incorporation of excessive amounts of Al causes a strong metal–support interaction (SMSI) effect, which has a detrimental effect on the HDS performance. The catalyst prepared with an Al/Si molar ratio of 2% exhibited the highest HDS activity of 97.6%, which was higher than that of the Al-free sample (81.9%) by 16.1%.