Monodispersed ultrasmall NiMo metal oxide nanoclusters as hydrodesulfurization catalyst

Abstract

In this study, we report the synthesis of ultrasmall NiMo bimetallic metal oxide nanoclusters (∼2nm), supported on γ-Al2O3 for hydrodesulfurization reaction. The metal oxide nanoclusters were prepared by colloidal synthesis using oleic acid and oleylamine as ligands, followed by incorporation of nanoclusters into the pores of γ-Al2O3. The nanocluster supported γ-Al2O3 was calcined to remove the ligands followed by sulfidation. Compared to the catalyst prepared using conventional wet impregnation method, the nanoclusters prepared using colloidal synthesis showed enhanced catalytic activity for the hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene because of the ultrasmall size of the metal oxide nanoclusters supported on γ-Al2O3. In addition, we have evaluated the performance of our catalyst with a diesel sample (containing ∼14,700ppm sulfur) obtained from a crude distillation unit. The sulfur content of the feed was reduced to ∼35ppm at 335°C and LHSV 2h−1 showing the good catalytic activity.