In Situ EXAFS Studies on Ni2P Hydrodesulfurization Catalysts in the Presence of High Pressure and High Temperature Oil

A Ni2P/SiO2 catalyst that is highly active for hydrodesulfurization (HDS) reaction was studied by in situ extended x‐ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) under the real reaction conditions. The measurements were conducted at realistic conditions of high pressure (3 MPa) and high temperature (613 K) in the presence of model oil. We used a low‐volume cell with cubic boron nitride windows. The obtained spectra revealed that the bulk Ni2P structure was stable at reaction conditions and that the active surface had Ni–S bonds under reaction conditions, which played an important role for HDS reactions.