Cationic Exchange of Evans‐Showell Polyoxometalate to Construct Efficient Hydrodesulfurization Catalyst

Abstract

AbstractIn this paper, a simple cationic exchange method was proposed to increase the Co/Mo ratio in the Evans‐Showell polyoxometalate to the desired 0.5 with both Mo and Co atoms in one molecule. This approach was proved successfully by X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray fluorescence spectrometer, infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analyzer. Then, the obtained Evans‐Showell‐type polyoxometalate was used as a superior precursor to construct efficient hydrodesulfurization catalyst, and the dibenzothiophene evaluation results showed that the hydrodesulfurization reaction turnover frequency, the rate constant, and the dibenzothiophene conversion are 1.8×10−3 s−1, 6.4×10−7 mol g−1 s−1, and 95.2 %, respectively, illustrating the excellent hydrodesulfurization performance of the catalyst. The cationic exchange approach promises the Mo and Co atoms in one molecule and the desired proximity of them, leading to a higher dispersion of MoS2 nanoparticles, a higher percent of CoMoS active phase and the excellent hydrodesulfurization performance for dibenzothiophene consequently.