Nickel phosphide (Ni2P) dispersed as small particles (~5 nm) on oxide supports (SiO2, Al2O3) has attracted interest as a catalyst for a number of processes, including heteroatom removal reactions. The current study focuses on modification of the properties (activity, selectivity) of Ni2P by incorporation of Ru into the supported phosphide phase or by modifying the oxide support by B addition prior to synthesis of the phosphide. The deep hydrodesulfurization (HDS) properties of series of Ni2-xRuxP/SiO2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) and Ni2P/xB-Al2O3 (x = 0-7.2 wt% B) catalysts were probed using a model feed of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (1000 ppm) in decalin over a range of temperatures (513-593 K). Incorporation of a small amount of Ru into Ni2P to form Ni1.85Ru0.15P/SiO2 resulted in a 15-fold increase in HDS activity (relative to Ni2P/SiO2), while increasing the amount of incorporated Ru caused the activity to decrease. Likewise, boron modification of the γ-Al2O3 support of Ni2P/xB-Al2O3 catalysts resulted in as much as an 8-fold increase in HDS activity relative to the B-free catalyst (Ni2P/Al2O3), with the activity increase dependent on the amount of added B. Physicochemical characterization of the catalysts yielded atomic level details on the roles of incorporated Ru and added B, providing insight into how these synthetic levers can be used to optimize the properties of Ni2P-based catalysts.

Optimizing nickel phosphide catalysts: Effect of Ru incorporation and support additives

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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