Water gas shift activity of Co-Mo/MgO-Al2O3 catalysts presulfided with ammonium sulfide

Co-Mo/MgO-Al2O3 catalyst was presulfided with ammonium sulfide in aqueous solution and activated with synthesis gas for water gas shift reaction. The assay results indicate that the presulfided Co-Mo/MgO-Al2O3 catalyst exhibits an excellent catalytic activity and stability. XRD and EPR characterization results show that the O-S exchange might occur during the impregnation, leading to the formation of (NH4)2MoS4(or (NH4)2MoxSy) precursor, which was then thermally decomposed and reduced to MoS2. The higher catalytic performance is attributed to an optimization formation of active Co-Mo sulfides, consisting of well dispersed MoS2 and Co-Mo-S phase due to the redispersion of Co sulfide particles over the edges of newly formed MoS2 crystallites.