Melamine foam-supported CoMo catalysts with three-dimensional porous structure for effective hydrodesulfurization of thiophene

The performance of the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) catalysts is generally subjected to the characteristics of supports. In this work, the melamine foam (MF) was employed as the support for fabricating a series of threedimensional porous (3DP) CoxMo/MF supported HDS catalysts. The properties of the obtained HDS catalysts were characterized by XRD, TG, SEM, TEM, and low-temperature N2 adsorption-desorption techniques. The characterization results demonstrated that the CoxMo/MF supported catalysts possessed the 3DP structure, in which the metal oxides were attached to the prismatic pillars of the MF framework. The activity test results illustrated that the thiophene conversion over the Co2.0Mo/MF catalyst could reach 96.96% under 1 MPa and 360 degrees C. The unique 3DP structure with rich meso-/macropores, low average length and average stacking of crystalline MoS2 promoted the HDS activity of the Co2.0Mo/MF catalyst. This research shows the potential application of MF support in the field of catalysis and provides the possible direction for the further development of the supported HDS catalysts.

Automated summary

The melamine foam was used as a support to fabricate the CoxMo/MF supported HDS catalysts with three-dimensional porous structure. The obtained catalysts showed the 3DP structure with metal oxides attached to the MF framework. The Co2.0Mo/MF catalyst exhibited high thiophene conversion due to its unique 3DP structure with rich meso-/macropores and low average stacking of crystalline MoS2.