Structure, stability and activity of RuS2 supported on alumina

The relationships between the structure attained by alumina-supported RuS2 during sulfidation, the extent of desulfurization of the sulfided phase during HDS, and the hydrodesulfurization activity of the catalyst were studied by TPS, TPR-S, XRD, FT-IR of CO, and DRS–UV–Vis–NIR. Sulfidation in H2S/N2 generates a mixture of RuS2-pyrite and RuS2-amorphous. As the sulfidation temperature increases, more RuS2-pyrite is produced at the expense of RuS2-amorphous. The later is not stable and undergoes reduction in reaction conditions, producing a sulfur-depleted catalyst (S/Ru