RUI: Noble Metal Phosphide Catalysts for Deep Hydrodesulfurization

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This award of the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Chemistry Program supports the work of Professor Mark E. Bussell of Western Washington University (WWU) and Professor Stephanie L. Brock of Wayne State University (WSU) to develop highly active and sulfur resistant hydrotreating catalysts based on noble metal phosphides. The properties of the noble metal phosphide catalysts will be tailored for deep hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of alkyl-substituted dibenzothiophenes; the removal of these species from crude oil is crucial to the production of ultra-low sulfur fuels. Monometallic and bimetallic phosphide catalysts of noble metals dispersed on high surface area silica will be prepared using the temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) method. The catalysts will be characterized with a variety of bulk and surface sensitive physicochemical techniques, with the primary goal of these characterization studies being to facilitate correlation of the bulk and surface chemical properties of these materials with their deep HDS catalytic properties. To facilitate deeper understanding of the catalytic properties of the noble metal phosphide catalysts prepared via TPR, parallel studies will be carried out on oxide-supported, monodisperse nanoparticles of the same metal phosphides. The proposed research will build and strengthen collaborative activities between the two investigators, their students, and scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Undergraduate (and M.S. level) students will be involved in all aspects of the research project at WWU, as will be a doctoral student at WSU.