Efficient Ni₂P/SiO₂ Catalysts with Enhanced Performance for the Hydrogenation of 4,6-Dimethyldibenzothiophene and Phenanthrene

Highly dispersed Ni2P catalysts (Ni2P/SiO2-DPx) were prepared by reducingthe passivation-freeprecursors, which were obtained through the phosphidation of nickelphyllosilicate with sodium hypophosphite. The strong metal-supportinteraction of nickel phyllosilicate and the mild phosphidation conditionsprevented the agglomeration of Ni particles and resulted in a smallerNi(2)P particle size. The superior catalytic performanceof the as-prepared Ni2P/SiO2-DP catalysts wasevaluated in hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiopheneand the hydrogenation of phenanthrene, in comparison with Ni2P/SiO2-IM and CoMoS/& gamma;-Al2O3 prepared from a conventional incipient wetness impregnation method.The passivation-free Ni-P/SiO2-DPx precursorsshowed great storage stability, and Ni2P/SiO2-DP derived from the stored Ni-P/SiO2-DP precursors exhibitednegligible loss of HDS activity. This method provides a potentialpreparation strategy for the industrial applications of transitionmetal phosphides without the temperature-programmed reduction andthe subsequent passivation process.