Cobalt-based catalysts prepared by a sol–gel method for thiophene hydrodesulfurization Original Research Article

A sol–gel method was used to prepare cobalt-based catalysts, which were obtained by mixing cobalt chloride and water glass solutions, followed by filtration, washing with water, drying, and calcination. The resulting solids were porous materials with high surface areas depending on preparation conditions used. These materials were active catalysts for hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of thiophene and they were more active than silica-supported cobalt catalysts loaded with 5–35 wt.% metal by a conventional impregnation method. Their higher HDS activities may be ascribable to higher dispersion and/or the different nature of cobalt species.