Modified Mesoporous HMS Supported V/W for Oxidative Desulfurization of Dibenzothiophene

Two V/W-HMS (hexagonal mesoporous silica) nanostructures were synthesized with various vanadium and tungsten loadings. And their catalytic activities were investigated in oxidative desulphurization of dibenzothiophene (DBT) in model diesel fuel. The catalysts were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and N_2 physical adsorption-desorption (BET/BJH) techniques. The best V/W-HMS catalyst exhibited high catalytic activity, capable of converting more than 95% of DBT in the model diesel fuel under the optimum reaction condition (0.05 gr 1:4 of catalyst, T=60°C, t=2h). After doping of vanadium with tungsten, it was found that bandgap of the catalyst was reduced and its catalytic performance was improved effectively. The catalytic activity remained unchanged even after 6 recycling processes. The reaction kinetics, mechanism, and bandgap energy of the catalysts were also investigated.