Green and efficient organic–inorganic hybrid nanocatalyst for oxidative desulfurization of gasoline

Abstract

A new organic–inorganic hybrid nanocomposite (TBA‐Si2W18Mn4@SAB) was synthesized by supporting quaternary ammonium salt of sandwich‐type polyoxometalate (TBA‐Si2W18Mn4) on sodium‐activated bentonite (SAB) for catalysing an oxidative desulfurization (ODS) process. The synthesized materials were characterized by means of elemental analysis, 29Si NMR, Fourier transform infrared and UV–visible spectroscopies, X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The proposed ODS process was successfully developed on the basis of the catalytic oxidation of organosulfur compounds using TBA‐Si2W18Mn4@SAB as catalyst and CH3COOH/H2O2 as oxidizing agent. The removal of the sulfur content of gasoline reached 97% at a temperature of 35°C after 1 h using 0.10 g of the prepared catalyst. Various experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of reaction time, catalyst amount, reaction temperature and catalyst type on sulfur removal efficiency. The heterogeneous TBA‐Si2W18Mn4@SAB catalyst was found to be reusable for five times. The obtained data illustrated that the use of the TBA‐Si2W18Mn4@SAB/CH3COOH/H2O2 oxidation system could be a convenient strategy for reducing the sulfur content of gasoline fuel under moderate reaction conditions.