USING Fe-PILC as catalyst Original Research Article

Fe pillared clays (Fe-PILCs) were synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Hydrodeporphyrinization (HDP) of vanadyl octaetil porphyrine (VOOEP) and hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of thiophene were used as catalytic tests. It was demonstrated that Fe-PILCs are very active catalysts for the HDP of VOOEP. After sulfidation of the Fe-PILC, some of the iron forms a bulk pyrrhotite-type iron sulfide (Fe1−xS) phase and the Fe-PILC structure is partially destroyed by the sulfiding procedure. About half of the iron remains forming a pillar structure. Both, the segregated iron sulfide and the iron in the pillars, are active for the decomposition of the VOOEP.