Electronic structure tuning is an effective strategy to activate transition metals. In this study, silica-promoted γ-Al 2 O 3 -supported Fe-based hydrodesulfurization catalysts of Fe species with electron loss were successfully prepared by transferring electrons from Fe to Si. The characterization results showed that the Fe-based hydrodesulfurization catalyst with the addition of silica modulated the structure and properties of the active metal, which not only improved the degree of sulfidation of the active metal but also promoted the generation of Fe(III)-S. The hydrodesulfurization rate of dibenzothiophene showed a remarkable rise from 38.4 to 83.2% at 673 K. Importantly, the formation of Fe(III)-S greatly stretched the bond length of Fe-S bonds, exhibiting an increase of approximately 21%, this facilitating the generation of coordinatively unsaturated active site. Finally, the HDS reaction performance of the Fe-based hydrodesulfurization catalysts was mainly influenced by the Fe(III)-S/Fe(II)-S ratio, with the most significant enhancement in the direct desulfurization reaction path. The results of this study provide a promising approach for the design and development of environmentally friendly and economical Fe-based catalysts in the field of clean fuels.
Regulation of electronic structure of metal active phase for catalysts has been known as efficient in promoting its catalytic activity; however, manipulating the activity of catalysts via controllable metal active phase electronic structure is still challenging. A non-equilibrium electronic structure Fe-based bulk catalyst has been developed via controllably adding P species, where the non-equilibrium electronic structure of Fe species is formed through the electron transfer from the Zn species through the P electronic channel. As a result, the catalytic activity of the modified Fe-based bulk catalysts has increased by 24.4–50.4%. Meanwhile, the sulfurization degree (SD) of the modified Fe-based bulk catalysts has increased by 5.6–25.9%. In addition, the HDS reaction rate constant ( k HDS ) has increased by about 2.0 times, and the DDS reaction rate constant ( k DDS ) has increased by about 2.4 times. The P modifying can regulate the directional transfer of unpaired free electrons between Fe and Zn species to form a more non-equilibrium electronic structure of Fe species, which can reduce the energy barrier of the C–S bond adsorbed on the P-modified Fe-based bulk catalysts. Importantly, the P species can be used as an active site to adsorb S-containing compounds in the modified Fe-based bulk catalysts, which is conducive to generating more coordinatively unsaturated sites (CUSs). The former can promote the formation of the more non-equilibrium electronic structure of Fe species, and the latter can adjust the adsorption active site of S-containing on the catalyst surface. Therefore, an electron transfer channel is formed among Fe, Zn, and P species, and another one is formed among Fe, P, and S-containing compounds, which form a dual-channel electron transfer behavior. Furthermore, the specific surface area, total pore volume, and reducibility of the modified Fe-based bulk catalysts have also shown varying degrees of improvement via the controllable addition of P species.
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）