High loading of short W(Mo)S₂ slabs inside the nanotubes of SBA-15. Promotion with Ni(Co) and performance in hydrodesulfurization and hydrogenation

Layered nanoslabs of a M0S₂ and WS₂ phases with a well-defined hexagonal crystalline structure were inserted into the nanotubular channels of SBA-15 at loadings up to 60 wt%. Sonication of a slurry containing SBA-15 in a W(Mo)(CO)₆-sulfur-diphenylmethane solution yielded an amorphous W(Mo)S₂ phase inside the mesopores that was transformed into hexagonal crystalline W(Mo)S₂ nanoslabs by further sulfidation. The nanoslabs were distributed exclusively inside the mesopores in a uniform manner (HRTEM, local quantitative microanalysis), without blocking the pores (N₂-sorption). The Ni(Co) promoters were introduced into the W(Mo)S₂/SBA-15 composites by impregnation from an aqueous solution of nickel (cobalt) acetate. The activity (based on the volume of the catalyst loaded into reactor) of the optimized Ni-W-S/SBA-15 catalyst in hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) and hydrogenation (HYD) of toluene was 1.4 and 7.3 times higher, respectively, than that of a sulfided commercial CO-MO/Al₂O₃. The HDS activity of Co-Mo- S/SBA-15 catalyst was 1.2 times higher than that of commercial catalyst. After promotion with Co, the directly introduced M0S₂ slabs and M0S₂ slabs prepared by sulfidation of Mo- oxide monolayer spread over SBA-15 displayed similar HDS performance.