Fabrication of Porous MoS2 with Controllable Morphology and Specific Surface Area for Hydrodeoxygenation

Abstract

SiO2 nanoparticles modified with aminopropyl-triethoxysilane (APTES) were used as hard templates for preparing porous MoS2. The method offers the advantages of simple steps, convenient operation, controllable pore size, and a specific surface area. Two morphologies of MoS2 were obtained by using thiourea and L-cysteine as sulfur sources, respectively. Porous MoS2 prepared by using thiourea had a smooth surface, whereas the surface of porous MoS2 prepared with L-cysteine had many burrs. The MoS2 nanomaterials with the respective morphologies were used to catalyze the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) reaction. The activity of MoS2 prepared with L-cysteine was lower than that prepared with thiourea. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses showed that MoS2 had a large sheet-shaped structure and high crystallinity, leading to high reaction activity and high selectivity for cyclohexane. The reaction temperature also influenced the HDO significantly. The mechanism of hydrogenation of phenol was discussed.