Effects of Polyethylene Glycol and Citric Acid on Preparation and Hydrodechlorination Activity of Molybdenum Phosphide

Abstract Molybdenum phosphide (MoP), modified by polyethylene glycol (PEG) and citric acid (CA), exhibited 2 to 3 times superior activity than the MoP modified by CA alone. And the optimal activity temperature was reduced from 500 to 450 o C. The catalyst was fully characterized by a variety of techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), N 2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that the addition of PEG and CA increased the surface area of MoP and decreased the particle size of MoP. Furthermore, the reaction mechanism also has been discussed by combining the activity data and characterization results.