Sono-Assisted Synthesis and Kinetic Modeling of Nanocrystallite Silicalite-1-NiMo Catalysts for Hydrodesulfurization of Dibenzothiophene: Role of Sonication Time on Support Mesoporosity and Catalytic Activity

We report herein the sono-assisted synthesis of nanocrystallite silicalite-1 and subsequent impregnation of Ni and Mo active metals for the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT). The effect of sonication time on the textural properties and the catalytic activity of the supported catalysts was extensively studied. The 2 h sonication time yielded the best catalyst support (SILC-2) with relatively good textural properties that remained almost intact even after the deposition of Ni and Mo metals. The SILC-2-supported NiMo catalyst demonstrated higher HDS activity than the other catalysts due to its good textural properties compared to the other catalysts. It was further discovered that high acidity and a large number of active sites are not the only criteria for high HDS activity of a catalyst.