Highly efficient NiMo/SiO2-Al2O3 hydrodesulfurization catalyst prepared from gemini surfactant-dispersed Mo precursor

•Polymolybdate anions were transformed into gemini-surfactant linked Mo precursor.•As-prepared NiMo/SiO2-Al2O3 had highly dispersed Ni-Mo-S with improved stacking.•This NiMo/SiO2-Al2O3 showed excellent activity for the ultra-deep HDS of fuel.

This article proposes a novel gemini surfactant-assisted synthesis of Mo precursor for preparing NiMo/SiO2-Al2O3 ultra-deep hydrodesulfurization (HDS) catalysts. The proposed method transforms polymolybdate anions into gemini surfactant-linked Mo precursor (GSMP), which facilitates the formation of highly dispersed MoS2 phases with improved stacking and therefore produces a large number of accessible Ni-Mo-S phases after Ni incorporation. The GSMP-based NiMo/SiO2-Al2O3 catalyst presents higher catalytic activity for the HDS of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene and fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) diesel than its counterparts prepared via impregnation and the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide-assisted hydrothermal method.

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