Synthesis and characterization of WS 2 nanotube supported cobalt catalyst for hydrodesulfurization

Yulia Tsverin, Ronit Popovitz-Biro, Yishay Feldman, Reshef Tenne, Mallikharjuna Rao Komarneni, Zhongqing Yu, Ashish Chakradhar, Andrew Sand, Uwe Burghaus

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

WS 2 nanostructures hold structural characteristics which suggest they will be suitable for heterogeneous catalysis in the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) process. In this work, WS 2 nanotubes (INT-WS 2) were coated with cobalt nanoparticles using electroless plating method. Prior to cobalt deposition, the nanotubes surface was activated using palladium seeding process. The deposited cobalt nanoparticles had hcp crystal structure and formed non-uniform layer on the nanotubes surface. The catalytic reactivity of the produced cobalt coated nanotubes toward thiophene decomposition was characterized by an atmospheric flow reactor. The coated nanotubes revealed good catalytic reactivity toward thiophene mineralization. Further, the adsorption kinetics of thiophene on coated INT-WS 2 was studied by thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). The cobalt coated system was found to be more catalytically active than the pristine INT-WS 2 system. This result is promising since further optimization of the nanofabrication process of the catalyst should increase the conversion rates even further.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1653-1660
Number of pages8
JournalMaterials Research Bulletin
Volume47
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2012

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank Dr. Alla Zak of “NanoMaterials” for the synthesis of the nanotubes and for fruitful discussions. NDSU gratefully acknowledges samples obtained from Haldor-Topsoe. We thank also L. Ming at Brookhaven National labs for SEM characterization of drop-and-dry samples. Financial support from the Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy is acknowledged (Project DE-FG02-08ER15987) by NDSU as well as NSF CAREER. RT gratefully acknowledges (a) the support of ERC project INTIF 226639, (b) the Israel Science Foundation , (c) the Harold Perlman Foundation , and (d) the Irving and Cherna Moskowitz Center for Nano and Bio-Nano Imaging . RT is the Drake Family Chair in Nanotechnology and director of the Helen and Martin Kimmel Center for Nanoscale Science. Appendix A

Keywords

  • A. Inorganic compounds
  • A. Nanostructures
  • B. Chemical synthesis
  • C. Electron microscopy
  • D. Catalytic properties

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