A highly loaded and dispersed Ni sub(2)P/SiO sub(2) catalyst for the hydrotreating reactions

A highly loaded P-Ni/SiO sub(2) catalyst with the high active nickel surface area was prepared by the co-precipitation method with an n-butanol drying process. Phosphorization of this catalyst with 10%PH sub(3) in H sub(2) at 423 K resulted in a supported Ni sub(2)P catalyst P-Ni sub(2)P/SiO sub(2). This catalyst showed the high surface area (152 m[super]2/g) with highly and uniformly dispersed Ni sub(2)P nano-particles (4.2 nm). Thus, it possessed the high density of active sites of Ni sub(2)P as titrated by the adsorption of CO (263 [micro]mol/g). Accordingly, it exhibited excellent performance for the hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene, hydrodenitrogenation of quinoline and hydrogenation of tetralin in a model diesel.