Efficient removal of H2S with zinc oxide/nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbons at room temperature

Abstract

Nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbon (NMC) was prepared via an organic–inorganic co-assembly method to support ZnO for the efficient removal of H 2 S at room temperature. NMCs with large BET specific surface areas, copious ordered mesopores, and controllable nitrogen doping worked cooperatively with uniformly dispersed ZnO, to improve desulfurization capability at room temperature. Among these, NMC-2 possessed a BET surface area as high as 1172 m 2 /g, a large pore volume of 1.09 cm 3 /g, and a conducive nitrogen content. The appropriate residual ordered mesopores after ZnO loading provided a fast–H 2 S–diffusion channel in NMC-2-20%, an accessible interfacial area (925 m 2 /g), and a sufficient space for product storage (0.9 cm 3 /g). The introduction of nitrogen as Lewis basic sites not only promoted the dissociation of H 2 S but also accelerated the lattice diffusion rate during the desulfurization process. The synergy of the above advantages resulted in an excellent desulfurization performance of 151.2 mg/g. This study presents the effective application of NMC as a support for ZnO for a fine desulfurization at room temperature. • NMC was prepared via the organic-inorganic co-assembly method. • The ordered mesopores improve H 2 S diffusion and provide sufficient space for product. • N doping could promote the H 2 S dissociation and accelerate lattice diffusion rate. • NMC-2-20% has well desulfurization performance.