Recent advances on nitrogen-doped metal-free materials for the selective catalytic oxidation of hydrogen sulfide

Abstract

As a highly toxic and corrosive waste gas, the selective elimination of H2S is of great significance in terms of safety production and environmental protection. In this short review, we focus on porous carbons, nano g-C3N4, and polymers that have been functionalized with structural base nitrogen sites because nitrogen-doped metal-free materials are superior to traditional metal-based catalysts in activity and reusability in H2S selective oxidation. Compared with g-C3N4, the porous polymer and carbon solid bases could be adjusted not only in porous structure but also in the structure of nitrogen-containing base sites. It is especially so for the porous polymeric solid bases, which could be tuned to show hydrophobic property and water resistance ability, endowing the materials with excellent catalytic performance in moisture environment. These newly developed metal-free catalysts can be applied for the deep elimination of H2S in industrial processes while having H2S converted to useful sulfur.