Octamolybdates containing MoV and MoVI sites supported on mesoporous tin oxide for oxidative desulfurization of liquid fuels

Abstract

SOx emission, one of the significant contributors to air pollution, is primarily caused by the combustion of sulfur-containing liquid fuels. Thus, ultra-low sulfur or sulfur-free fuels production gains more attention to construct the SOx-free environment. Despite the oxidative desulfurization using polyoxometalates and hydrogen peroxide showing promising results, the requirement of hydrogen peroxide in excess and the complicated synthesis of heterogeneous polyoxometalates are the key drawbacks. So, in this paper, facile hydrothermal synthesis of mesoporous tin oxide-supported octamolybdates containing MoV and MoVI sites is reported for oxidative desulfurization with near stoichiometric hydrogen peroxide. The current catalytic system seems competitive among molybdenum-based oxidative desulfurization catalysts due to its higher turnover frequencies of 28.1 h−1. The straightforward synthesis of catalysts and their excellent oxidative desulfurization activity would be attractive in building the SOx-free environment via clean transport energy.