Highly efficient unsupported Co-doped nano-MoS2 catalysts for p-cresol hydrodeoxygenation

To prepare catalyst with high activity, high selectivity and good stability remains the biggest challenge in the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of phenols by adopting MoS 2 -based sulfides as catalysts. Herein, we report a simple hydrothermal method to synthesize highly-dispersed nano-MoS 2 with abundant defects and some curved slabs. All these advantages enable nano-MoS 2 to provide a large number of coordination unsaturated sites to anchor Co atoms. The unsupported Co-doped catalyst with an optimal Co/(Co + Mo) molar ratio of 0.3 exhibited excellent performance in the HDO of p -cresol with conversion of 98.7 % and toluene selectivity of 98.9 % at 220 °C. Moreover, the optimized Co/MoS 2 -0.3 catalyst had a good stability after reaction of 72 h. The excellent HDO performance was attributed to the formation of abundant Co-Mo-S active sites which optimize the electrical structure of nano-MoS 2 by Co promoter.