Improving the hydrodesulfurization performance of the sulfur-resistant intermetallic Ni2Si based on a MOF-derived route

Abstract

Carbon-supported intermetallic nickel silicide (Ni₂Si/C) as a non-sulfide catalyst derived from Ni-MOF-74 presents high activity and sulphur-resistance in the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT). The Ni₂Si/C catalyst possesses a large specific surface area (168 m² g⁻¹), small crystallite size (12 nm) and high electronic density of the nickel active sites; thus, they demonstrate HDS properties breaking the metal silicide bottleneck derived from the microelectronic industry during catalysis. Due to the strong electron-donating effect between Ni and Si and the modification effect by a porous carbon matrix, the Ni₂Si/C catalyst exhibits an outstanding stability during DBT HDS after 120 h of stability testing.