Highly active and stable MoS2-TiO2 nanocomposite catalyst for slurry-phase phenanthrene hydrogenation

MoS2-TiO2 nanocomposite catalysts with Janus structure were synthesized via facile one-step solvothermal method. X-ray diffraction, high resolution transmission electron microscope, NO chemisorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were applied to characterize the composition and nanostructure of the MoS2-TiO2 nanocomposite catalysts. Experimental results revealed that the MoS2-TiO2 nanocomposite catalysts with Janus structure were composed of MoS2 layers (few stacked layers of 1–3 and short slabs of 2–10 nm) and TiO2 nanoparticles (10–15 nm), which have strong MoS2-TiO2 interaction with transferring electrons from TiO2 to MoS2. Catalytic performance of MoS2-TiO2 nanocomposite catalysts for phenanthrene hydrogenation was investigated and compared with that of MoS2 catalyst in an autoclave reactor with high temperature and high pressure. The phenanthrene conversion over the MoS2-TiO2 nanocomposite catalyst with MoS2 content of 15.0 wt% (MoS2-TiO2-15) can reach 91.6%, which was much higher than 50.4% for MoS2 catalyst and 76.8% for conventional supported MoS2/TiO2-15 catalyst. After 7 cycles of phenanthrene hydrogenation reaction, the phenanthrene conversion over MoS2-TiO2-15 nanocatalyst remained at 68.6%, while the phenanthrene conversion over MoS2 catalyst was reduced to only 25.4%. The MoS2-TiO2 nanocomposite catalysts exhibit significantly enhanced catalytic activity and stability for slurry phase hydrogenation. The enhanced catalytic activity originates from the exposure of abundant coordinatively unsaturated Mo atoms. The enhanced stability results from the Janus structure with stable MoS2-TiO2 interaction and Mo–O–Ti bonds, which anchor MoS2 layers on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles to avoid the curling, folding and agglomeration of MoS2 layers. This is an important finding on slurry phase catalytic hydrogenation performances of MoS2-based nanocomposite catalysts with Janus structure. Shedding light on the research of Janus nanocomposite catalysts in catalytic hydrogenation is significantly crucial for the development of effective and stable hydrogenation catalysts.