Efficient Ni<sub>2</sub>P/SiO<sub>2</sub> Catalysts with Enhanced Performance for the Hydrogenation of 4,6-Dimethyldibenzothiophene and Phenanthrene
Guan Huang, Zhichao Sun, Ying‐Ya Liu, Zhiquan Yu, Yao Wang, Anjie Wang, Yongkang Hu
Abstract
Highly dispersed Ni 2 P catalysts (Ni 2 P/SiO 2 -DP x ) were prepared by reducing the passivation-free precursors, which were obtained through the phosphidation of nickel phyllosilicate with sodium hypophosphite. The strong metal–support interaction of nickel phyllosilicate and the mild phosphidation conditions prevented the agglomeration of Ni particles and resulted in a smaller Ni 2 P particle size. The superior catalytic performance of the as-prepared Ni 2 P/SiO 2 -DP catalysts was evaluated in hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene and the hydrogenation of phenanthrene, in comparison with Ni 2 P/SiO 2 -IM and CoMoS/γ-Al 2 O 3 prepared from a conventional incipient wetness impregnation method. The passivation-free Ni-P/SiO 2 -DP x precursors showed great storage stability, and Ni 2 P/SiO 2 -DP derived from the stored Ni-P/SiO 2 -DP precursors exhibited negligible loss of HDS activity. This method provides a potential preparation strategy for the industrial applications of transition metal phosphides without the temperature-programmed reduction and the subsequent passivation process.