Abstract
We introduce a tertiary transition metal sulfide nanostructure, Pt-Co-Mo-S, for catalytic hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of sulfur-containing molecules in crude oil distillates with the aim to produce ultra-low sulfur transport fuels. The addition of ppm-levels of Pt to a standard industrial Co-Mo-S catalyst boosts the HDS activity by up to 46%. The promotional effect is examined by combining atomic-resolution Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (XANES) and Density Functional Theory (DFT). It is shown that the Pt-Co-Mo-S catalyst contains predominantly single-layer MoS2 nanocrystals with Co atoms fully covering the S-edge terminations and Pt atoms uniquely attached to corner and edge sites in a platinum(IV) sulfide-like structural motif. Platinum is suggested to reduce the sulfur binding energy and increase the abundance of coordinately undersaturated sites (CUS) and not necessarily changing the reactivity towards 4,6-DMDBT molecules, although more elaborate studies are needed to address this in detail.
Highlights
Since the 1970s societal focus on air quality and pollution control has introduced legislation requiring a continuous lowering of the sulfur content in transportation fuels implying that almost all crude oil is to be hydrotreated
We will demonstrate how, in our hands, highly activity-enhanced Pt-Co-MoS2 the atomic (Mo)-S nanocrystals can be prepared by slight modifications of the otherwise standard Co-Mo-S catalyst and we will present an atomistic picture for the synergetic role of this tertiary transition metal sulfide catalyst system
Addition of ppm-levels of Pt to an industrial Co-Mo-S catalyst leads to a remarkable increase of up to 46%, as compared to the Ptunpromoted catalyst, in the activity for low-pressure hydrotreating aimed at producing ultra-low sulfur diesel oil
Summary
Since the 1970s societal focus on air quality and pollution control has introduced legislation requiring a continuous lowering of the sulfur content in transportation fuels implying that almost all crude oil (ca. 2500 million tons annually) is to be hydrotreated. The main catalytic challenge for production of today’s ultra-low sulfur diesel (
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