Synthesis of noble molybdenum and tungsten complexes for hydrocracking catalyst of heavy oil

Abstract

This paper reports the synthesis of six potential catalyst precursors for hydrocracking reactions for vacuum residue refinement. New group 6 transition metal complexes, (LM(CO)3) (M=Mo or W, L1=3-phenyl-1-propyne,L2=4-phenyl-1-butyne, and L3=5-phenyl-1-pentyne) were prepared by simply stirring M(CO)3(RCN)3 in THF solution. New compounds were applied as a catalyst precursor for hydrocracking of vacuum residue and the catalytic activity was compared to the commercially available material, Mo-octoate. LMo(CO)3 showed similar activities to Mo-octoate. Among all, L3Mo(CO)3 which had the longest alkyl chain showed a comparable result of low yield for coke and gas products.