Impregnation, crucial step of the preparation of supported catalysts used for hydrotreatment of petroleum fractions (CoMo / gamma-alumina), has been studied in this work. The main aim has consisted in determining the physico-chemical phenomena and the interactions between the support surface and the aqueous species during this step, and then linking these results to the activity of the final catalyst.The direct formation and stability of the (3 Co2+ ; H4Co2Mo10O386-) solution have been studied as a function of pH, concentration and Co/Mo ratio. This has required the developement of analytical quantitative methods (Raman and UV-visible spectroscopies) carried out thanks to SIMPLISMA, an algorithm of data treatment by factorial analysis. The study of impregnating (3 Co2+ ; H4Co2Mo10O386-) solutions onto gamma alumina has led to a best understanding of this step. It was showed that the conservation of these species on the support mainly depends on the surface density of molybdenum atoms per square nanometer, but also on the Co/Mo ratio and the initial pH of impregnating solutions, all these parameters being linked together. This study has underlined the major role of the surface properties of the support. The interest of using (3 Co2+ ; H4Co2Mo10O386-) solutions to prepare such catalysts lies in the proximity of cobalt and molybdenum. The resulting active phase is very well dispersed and highly promoted, even if the precursor is decomposed on the support during impregnation. Finally, the methodology developed in this work is transferable to the preparation of any supported catalyst.
