Highly active CoMo/Al (10) KIT-6 catalysts for HDS of DBT: Role of structure and aluminum heteroatom in the support matrix

Abstract Herein we report the synthesis of CoMo catalysts for the hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene reaction as a function of morphological effect and heteroatom substitution on KIT-6 supports. The interconnected pores of KIT-6 seem to play a vital role in the active catalyst preparation. The activity and direct desulfurization selectivity trends of the different catalysts resulted as follows: CoMo/Al(10)-KIT-6 > CoMo/KIT-6 > CoMo/γ-Al 2 O 3 . The improved catalytic activity and direct desulfurization selectivity are attributed to: (I) the high surface area and interconnected pores of KIT-6 which allow large quantities of nanosized (