A novel synthetic method of porous and nanoflower-like Al2O3/MoS2 catalyst for reduction of SO2 to elemental sulfur

MoS2 nanoflowers are favored for their potential in the production of elemental sulfur due to abundant surface area and good catalytic performance for reducing SO2. A novel synthetic strategy of porous Al2O3 supported on the MoS2 with nanoflower structure was proposed. The effects of preparation concentration, calcination atmosphere, and Al2O3 contents on the growth of catalysts with nanoflower structure were systematically studied via X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The surface area was increased to 295.502 m(2)/g and the amount of Lewis acid on the surface of the Al2O3/MoS2 catalyst was increased by adjusting the ratio of Al/Mo. The porous and nanoflower structures of Al2O3/MoS2 catalysts promoted the sulfur selectivity without inhibiting the catalytic performance of MoS2. The conversion of SO2 and the selectivity of sulfur were 100% and 92% after 100 h life evaluation.