Synthesis of Nano NiO-Mo₂O₃ Catalyst Supported on Al₂O₃-MgO Ceramics Using Impregnation Method for Hydrodesulfurization of Dibenzothiophene (DBT)

This paper reported the synthesis of NiO-Mo2O3 catalyst supported on Al2O3-MgO substrate for selective elimination of sulfur from dibenzothiophene (DBT), NiO-Mo2O3 catalyst supported on Al2O3-MgO ceramics were prepared by 3 steps impregnation method. After each step of impregnation there will be a drying and heat treatment at a temperature of 500 ℃. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirm the formation of a new hexagonal phase of Mg0.64Al0.36O2(MAO) ceramic, other minority phases were also detected such as MoO3, MgO, and NiO. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) results confirmed the formation of Ni-O bond, Mo-O, and Mg-OH bonds on the alumina surface for all samples by showing an identical spectrum for all samples. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) confirm the formation of NiO and MoO3 nanoparticles agglomerated and attached on the surface of the MgO-Al2O3 with an average grain size of 90 nm. The maximum % of Ni in the catalyst was 0.5% (sample D) that exhibit the best hydrodesulfurization (HDS) performance (100%) from DBT. The formation of nano nickel oxide catalyst on the surface of Al2O3 that has been doped with MgO and Mo2O3 oxides improves the rate of sulfur removal in the form of H2S.