To investigate the potential utilization of MOF templates in hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of large sulfur-containing compounds,

MOF-derived Ni 2 P was prepared and characterized by XRD, TG, SEM, TEM, XPS and Raman. The fi ndings

indicate that MOF-derived Ni 2 P catalyst exhibits signifi cantly enhanced Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) activity compared to

conventional unsupported Ni 2 P. A modifi ed pyrolysis and phosphiding condition allowed the stacking of central Ni atoms to

be aggregated loosely, and morphology of MOF-derived Ni 2 P can be controllably transmitted from polyhedral to petal-like.

A lower pyrolysis temperature tends to reduce density of Ni aggregates and cluster size of Ni 2 P(111), thereby facilitating

the phosphiding of Ni aggregates and enhancing the catalytic activity of MOF-derived Ni 2 P in HDS process. Increasing the

duration time of pyrolysis at lower temperatures does not accelerate the aggregation of particles, but makes petals on surface

of MOF-derived Ni become thinner and eventually disappear, until coral-like nanosphere aggregates with uniform size are

formed. The gradually elimination of MOF framework renders nickel aggregates more susceptible to phosphiding. The collapse

of pore structure of MOF template can impact HDS activity of MOF-derived Ni 2 P. Prolonging pyrolysis time causes

the spacing between Ni 2 P clusters to diminish, thereby signifi cantly decreasing reactivity of Ni 2 P-400-4-275 compared to

Ni 2 P-400-2-275 in DBT–HDS.