One-step synthesis of flower-like MgO/Carbon materials for efficient H2S oxidation at room temperature

Abstract

Regenerable materials with abundant basic sites and sulfur storage space are highly desirable for the removal of H2S. In this work, we synthesized a flower-like MgO/Carbon material by one-step carbonization of magnesium gluconate and applied it for H2S oxidation at room temperature. The results demonstrate that the high content of MgO and super-hydrophilic surface of the MgO/Carbon provide abundant basic sites for the adsorption and dissociation of H2S. Moreover, carbon defects and a well‐developed pore structure offer active sites for the desulfurization reaction and large space for storage of sulfur products. Consequently, the MgO/Carbon materials exhibit excellent H2S oxidation performance, which is far superior to that of commercial activated carbon. In addition, the MgO/Carbon materials show extraordinary regeneration capacity and maintain their high performance even after 5 cycles of desulfurization/regeneration. Furthermore, mechanisms for the H2S oxidation process, deactivation and regeneration are proposed based on the experimental and characterization results. Considering the simple preparation process, excellent desulfurization and regeneration performance of as-prepared MgO/Carbon material, our findings provide a new strategy for the design of efficient desulfurizers.