Synthesis, characterization, and catalytic performance of NiMo catalysts supported on hierarchically porous Beta-KIT-6 material in the hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene

• Published in: Journal of catalysis Vol. 274; no. 2; pp. 273 - 286
• Main Authors: Zhang, Dengqian, Duan, Aijun, Zhao, Zhen, Xu, Chunming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 09.09.2010; Elsevier; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Beta-KIT-6; Catalysis; Catalysts; Characterization; Chemical reactions; Chemical synthesis; Chemistry; Colloidal state and disperse state; Dibenzothiophene; Exact sciences and technology; General and physical chemistry; Hydrodesulfurization; Micro-mesoporous composite material; Porous materials; Reaction network; Synthesis; Theory of reactions, general kinetics. Catalysis. Nomenclature, chemical documentation, computer chemistry; Characterization; Synthesis; Beta-KIT-6; Reaction network; Micro-mesoporous composite material; Hydrodesulfurization; Dibenzothiophene; Desulfurization; Binary compound; Acidic site; Hydrogenation; Porous material; Supported catalyst; Composite material; Structure; Catalyst support; Catalytic reaction; Transition metal; Acidity; Conversion; Molybdenum; Mesoporosity; Mass transfer; Heterogeneous catalysis; Microporosity; Benzene; Nickel; Alumina
• ISSN: 0021-9517; 1090-2694
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcat.2010.07.012

Micro-mesoporous composite material of Beta-KIT-6 (BK) was successfully synthesized. Superior mass transfer property combined with suitable acidity make Beta-KIT-6-supported NiMo an excellent catalyst for the hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene. Micro-mesoporous composite material Beta-KIT-6 (BK) with the BEA microporous structure and cubic Ia3d mesoporous structure was synthesized and used as catalyst support for the hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene. The composite material possessed both KIT-6 and Beta structures. NiMo/BK had similar acidity as NiMo/Beta and possessed more acid sites and stronger acidity than NiMo/KIT-6 and NiMo/SBA-15. NiMo/BK showed the highest dibenzothiophene hydrodesulfurization activity among all the catalysts that were studied, and the dibenzothiophene conversion on NiMo/BK was about 2–3 times that of NiMo/Al 2O 3. The acidity of NiMo/BK enhanced the activity of the direct desulfurization pathway more significantly than that of the hydrogenation pathway. Cyclohexen-1-yl-benzene was detected as intermediate of the hydrogenation pathway. NiMo/KIT-6 exhibited higher activity than NiMo/SBA-15 due to the superior mass transfer ability of the cubic Ia3d mesoporous structure.