title: Comparative X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic study on the desulfurization of thiophene by Raney nickel and rapidly quenched skeletal nickel.
abstract: The desulfurization of thiophene on Raney Ni and rapidly quenched skeletal Ni (RQ Ni) has been studied in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Raney Ni or RQ Ni can be approximated as a hydrogen-preadsorbed polycrystalline Ni-alumina composite. It is found that thiophene molecularly adsorbs on Raney Ni or RQ Ni at 103 K. At 173 K, thiophene on alumina is desorbed, while thiophene in direct contact with the metallic Ni in Raney Ni undergoes C-S bond scission, leading to carbonaceous species most probably in the metallocycle-like configuration and atomic sulfur. On RQ Ni, the temperature for thiophene dissociation is about 100 K higher than that on Raney Ni. The lower reactivity of RQ Ni toward thiophene is tentatively attributed to lattice expansion of Ni crystallites in RQ Ni due to rapid quenching. The existence of alumina and hydrogen may block the further cracking of the metallocycle-like species on Raney Ni and RQ Ni at higher temperatures, which has been the dominant reaction pathway on Ni single crystals. By 473 K, the C 1s peak has disappeared, leaving nickel sulfide on the surface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Huarong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Minghua
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.forename: Fuzhong
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Kangnian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Dali
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Xinhe
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Hailong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Baoning
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zong
authors.forename: Xiaoxin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang