Oxidative desulfurization catalyzed by a novel ZrP/MCM-41 catalyst with high performance

In this study, the ZrP/MCM-41 catalyst was successfully synthesized by using a facile one-pot method to load zirconium phosphate (ZrP) on MCM-41. The synthesized ZrP/MCM-41 catalyst was characterized by various characterization methods. The catalyst was confirmed to have medium and strong acidic sites by ammonia temperature programmed desorption (NH3-TPD). The Zr in ZrP/MCM-41 was confirmed to be Zr4+ using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The catalytic activity was evaluated during the oxidative desulfurization (ODS) process, and the optimal reaction conditions were determined, including reaction temperature and time, the catalyst dosage and O/S (H2O2/sulfur) molar ratio. Under optimal reaction conditions, the sulfur removal rate of the ODS process reached 99.9%. After the catalyst was recycled 14 times, the catalytic activity was still 94.68%. The catalyst has good catalytic activity and reusability.