High-Performance Heterogeneous Oxidative Desulfurization Catalyst with Brønsted Acid Sites

Abstract

A new heterogeneous catalyst containing two types of active sites, sulfo group and ammonium heptamolybdate, on ASKG silica gel support was synthesized. The influence of oxidation conditions (temperature, reactant ratio, reaction time) on the conversion of a model substrate, dibenzothiophene (DBT), was examined. Conditions were found for exhaustive oxidation of DBT. The catalyst synthesized is stable under the oxidation conditions and preserves its activity in five oxidation cycles. The combination of two types of active sites not only considerably enhances the catalyst performance but also reduces to a minimum the possible washout of molybdenum compounds from the support surface.