Structural aspects of ternary phase Ni/MoWS₂ catalyst: An aberration corrected HRTEM study

In the past 20 years, one of the best catalytic materials for hydrodesulphurization reactions of crude oil has been the transition sulfides, MoS₂, known also as the "workhorse" of the refinery industry. It has been proven by this and other research groups that the MoS ₂ laminar structure can increase its catalytic activity when promoted with cobalt or nickel. The location of active sites seem to be at rim and edge sites on that particular laminar structure, as demonstrated using Mossbauer spectroscopy and x-ray techniques. However, due to maximum capability of this promoted systems, Co(Ni)/MoS₂ to remove heterogeneous atoms (S, N, O) - a search for new catalytic materials has currently been an ongoing activity in the HDS community. Here, we will present the new family of ternary phase catalyst with special emphasis on their structural aspects, as revealed by aberration corrected (Cs) high-resolution transmission electron microscopy techniques, in an attempt to describe the nature of active sites on this porous nano-rod like catalytic materials.