The molecular and electronic structure of the Mo12S24 macromolecule as a model of the active component of a hydrodesulfurization catalyst

The density functional theory (DFT) with the B3P86 hybrid exchange-correlation functional was used to calculate the molecular and electronic structure of the Mo₁₂S₂₄ macromolecule as a single MoS₂ layered structure slab. Calculations with geometry optimization are indicative of insignificant relaxation of the coordinatively unsaturated Mo and S atoms, which corresponds with the literature DFT data on the MoS₂ single slab obtained with periodic boundary conditions. The calculated forbidden band width (0.85–0.98 eV) is comparable with its experimental value (1.30 eV) and the results of DFT calculations of MoS₂ with periodic boundary conditions (0.89 eV). An analysis of the electronic state of the surface Mo centers in the Mo₁₂S₂₄ macromolecule showed that these centers were reduced to a greater degree than the Mo(IV) atoms in the bulk. The adsorption complex between the Mo₁₂S₂₄ macromolecule and six H₂S molecules was calculated to characterize the adsorption ability of the coordinatively unsaturated Mo centers. The structure and energy characteristics of the adsorption complex corresponded to weak donor-acceptor interaction between the π lone pair of H₂S and the surface (reduced) Mo centers. The suggestion was made that the active center of the catalytic cycle of thiophene hydrodesulfurization should induce the oxidative addition of H₂ followed by the occlusion of hydrogen into the MoS₂ matrix.