Ni2P/Al2O3 hydrodesulfurization catalysts prepared from hypophosphite under a nitrogen atmosphere

A novel method for preparing Ni2P/Al2O3(L) catalysts in an N2 atmosphere by decomposition of hypophosphites was proposed, and Ni2P/Al2O3(T) catalyst was synthesized by the temperature programmed reduction method in a H2 atmosphere for comparison. These prepared catalysts were washed with deionized water to remove impurities. The X-ray diffraction, N2-adsorption specific surface area measurements, CO uptake, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were applied to characterize these catalysts. The activities of the Ni2P/Al2O3 catalysts prepared with the two different methods were tested in the dibenzothiophene hydrodesulfurization reaction.