Ionic Liquid‐Coated Nickel Phosphide Catalysts for Selective Hydrodesulfurization

Ni 2 P/SiO 2 catalysts were coated with the ionic liquid (IL) 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]amide with different coating thicknesses and their selective hydrodesulfurization performances were investigated using a model fluid catalytic cracking gasoline. The selective factor on the IL‐coated catalysts (IL‐Ni 2 P/SiO 2 ) first increased and then decreased as the initial mass ratio of IL to Ni 2 P/SiO 2 catalyst ranged from 0.02 to 0.18. A maximum selectivity factor of 16.7 was found at a mass ratio of 0.10 which corresponds to full monolayer coverage on the original Ni 2 P/SiO 2 catalyst by the IL. In comparison, the selectivity factor was 6.7 for the Ni 2 P/SiO 2 catalyst, indicating a significant selectivity improvement by the IL coating method.