Hydrodenitrogenation of Quinoline and Decahydroquinoline Over a Surface Nickel Phosphosulfide Phase

Abstract

The hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) of quinolone (Q) and decahydroquinoline (DHQ) over a Ni2P catalyst prepared by the reduction of a conventional phosphate precursor and a surface nickel phosphosulfide phase (Ni2P–S) obtained by the reduction of Ni2P2S6 were studied. A reaction network of the HDN of Q over Ni2P was proposed. Both the hydrogenation and C–N bond cleavage activities of Ni2P were enhanced after the introduction of sulfur. The surface sulfur species of Ni2P–S changed significantly after the HDN of DHQ. The thiolate or thiol species were detected as the major sulfur-containing species in the surface of the spent Ni2P–S catalyst.