LAUSR

Niobium sulfide (NbS2) has shown a promising performance in versatile applications, but its formation from Nb oxide is thermodynamically limited, which hinders its usage. We predicted, based on thermodynamic calculations, and experimentally verified that the addition of copper (Cu) to niobium promotes Nb oxide sulfidation at practical temperatures. A series of bimetallic bulk NbCu structures at varying Cu/Nb molar ratios were synthesized via a coprecipitation technique. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) results revealed that copper facilitated sulfidation and reduction of niobium oxide. The synthesized NbCu catalysts were evaluated in hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) at 325 °C and 3 MPa. Copper promotes sulfidation but does not change the turnover frequency of surface NbS2 and behaves as a spectator. The optimal Cu/Nb molar ratio was found to be 0.3, below which there is not enough Cu to ensure maximum sulfidation and above which copper s...