Spongy chalcogels of non-platinum metals act as effective hydrodesulfurization catalysts

Abstract

Aerogels are low-density porous materials, made mostly of air, for which hundreds of applications have been found in recent years. Inorganic oxide-based aerogels have been known for a long time, carbon aerogels were discovered in the early 1990s and sulfur- and selenium-based aerogels (chalcogels) are the most recent additions to this family. Here we present new aerogels made of Co(Ni)–Mo(W)–S networks with extremely large surface areas and porosity. These systems are formed by the coordinative reactions of (MoS4)2− and (WS4)2− with Co2+ and Ni2+ salts in non-aqueous solvents. We show that these low-density sponge-like networks can absorb conjugated organic molecules and mercury ions, and preferentially adsorb CO2 over H2, which illustrates their high potential as gas-separation media. The chalcogels are shown to be twice as active as the conventional sulfided Co–Mo/Al2O3 catalyst for the hydrodesulfurization of thiophene. Aerogels made from metal–sulfur networks show high absorption of conjugated organic molecules and mercury ions and can easily separate H2 from CO2. Compared with the conventional sulfided Co-Mo/Al2O3 catalyst, these spongy, random porous networks are twice as active towards the hydrodesulfurization of thiophene.

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Bag, S., Gaudette, A., Bussell, M. et al. Spongy chalcogels of non-platinum metals act as effective hydrodesulfurization catalysts. Nature Chem 1, 217–224 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.208

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