Deep oxidative desulfurization of real fuel and thiophenic model fuels using polyoxometalate-based catalytic nanohybrid material

In this paper, a new inorganic-organic nanohybrid material (Cu-SPOM@PbO@PVA) was constructed and used as a catalyst for oxidative desulfurization (ODS) treatment. The hybrid catalyst composed of Cu-substituted polyoxometalate (Cu-SPOM), lead oxide (PbO), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was prepared via sol-gel method. The Cu-SPOM@PbO@PVA composite was characterized by various analytical techniques. The SEM results showed that the Cu-SPOM and PbO particles were well dispersed on the PVA matrix. Also, the mean particle size of the composite was in a range of 30-40 nm. According to the ODS results of real gasoline, the removal efficiency of sulfur content could reach 97 % at 35 degrees C after 1 h. Under the same reaction conditions, the concentration of some of thiophenic compounds, including, thiophene (Th), benzothiophene (BT), and dibenzothiophene (DBT) was significantly reduced from the model fuels with the efficiency of 97, 98, and 98 %, respectively. In addition, a series of ODS tests were carried out concerning desulfurization effect, kinetic study, and regeneration of the nanohybrid catalyst. The excellent catalytic activity of the Cu-SPOM@PbO@PVA composite suggested a fascinating new field in designing of inorganic-organic nanohybrid catalysts for ODS reactions.