2015 Volume 58 Issue 4 Pages 197-204
Metal phosphides, including Ni2P, MoP, WP, and CoP, are novel active hydrotreating catalysts with high potential as high-performance catalysts due to their higher hydrogenation activity, which is essential in the hydrodesulfurization of bulky sulfur-containing molecules and in hydrodenitrogenation, compared to conventional Mo- and W-based metal sulfide catalysts. However, the preparation of metal phosphides is more challenging than that of metal sulfides. In the present study, three preparation methods, including in-situ reduction, H2-plasma reduction, and sulfidation-reduction, are introduced, and the effects of preparation conditions on the structure and catalytic performances in hydrodesulfurization are briefly discussed. In addition, H2S passivation is compared with O2 passivation for the preparation of Ni2P catalysts.