Clean-fuels manufacturing via hydrogenation processes: acidity-activity correlation of CoMoSx catalysts in the HDT of o-xylene

Commercial CoMo/?-Al2O3 catalysts were characterized and tested in the o-xylene hydrogenation processes, aiming to evaluate the influence of catalyst acidity on the catalytic pathway in the model reaction under study. Namely, a clear relationship between the number and strength of Lewis acid sites and the catalytic performance of the materials was established. Moreover, acid-modified catalysts provided a good compromise between activity and stability.