Hydrodeoxygenation of p-cresol on unsupported Ni–W–Mo–S catalysts prepared by one step hydrothermal method

• Ni–Mo–W sulfide catalysts are prepared by one step hydrothermal method.
• The effect of W/Mo molar ratio on the catalytic performance is studied.
• Ni–Mo–W–S catalyst with a W/Mo molar ratio of 0.5 exhibits the highest HDO activity.
• The p-cresol conversion is high (97.9%) with a deoxygenation rate of 97.56%.
• The high HYD selectivity depends on the high proportion of corner sites.

Unsupported Ni–Mo–W sulfide catalysts were prepared by one step hydrothermal method using ammonium heptamolybdate and thiocarbamide in water, and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen physisorption and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effect of W/Mo molar ratio on the catalytic performance was studied using the HDO of p-cresol as a probe. The results showed that the Ni–Mo–W–S catalyst with an appropriate W/Mo molar ratio possesses the short slab length of MoS2 or WS2 structure and many active sites, leading to the high HDO activity and HYD selectivity.

Adjusting the W/Mo molar ratio in the Ni–Mo–W–S catalysts could promote the dispersion of the active phases, leading to a high number of active site, and shorten the slab length of MoS2 structure, producing a high proportion of corner site. In the HDO of p-cresol, the activity and HYD selectivity of Ni–Mo–W–S catalysts depended on their active sites and the proportion of corner sites, respectively.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide