Copper nanoparticles advance electron mobility of graphene-like boron nitride for enhanced aerobic oxidative desulfurization

Recently, graphene-like boron nitride (g-BN), has been developed a new application, as a catalyst for aerobic catalysis, which gives it a passport to catalytic field. However, its way to be a high-active one is blocked by its insulation property. In this work, copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) with nano-size and low resistivity, are confined through g-BN (Cu NPs/g-BN) to boost electron mobility by a simple one-pot pathway. Experiments show that Cu NPs/g-BN hosts a better performance in aerobic oxidation of aromatic sulfur compounds with a catalytic activity of >97%. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves give a testimony that the presence of Cu NPs for raised electron mobility is a key element to the high catalytic activity. Besides, the catalyst can be recycled for 10 times without significant decrease in aerobic catalytic activity, which is found to be related with the idiosyncratic oxidation-resisting property of Cu NPs. Experiments find that the extraordinary oxidation-resisting property of Cu NPs mainly relates to the existence of g-BN, which can keep Cu NPs away from being oxidized. This work provides another sight for enlargement of application of g-BN for aerobic catalysis and a new strategy for preservation of NPs. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.