Green and efficient organic-inorganic hybrid nanocatalyst for oxidative desulfurization of gasoline

A new organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposite (TBA-Si2W18Mn4@SAB) was synthesized by supporting quaternary ammonium salt of sandwich-type polyoxometalate (TBA-Si2W18Mn4) on sodium-activated bentonite (SAB) for catalysing an oxidative desulfurization (ODS) process. The synthesized materials were characterized by means of elemental analysis, Si-29 NMR, Fourier transform infrared and UV-visible spectroscopies, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The proposed ODS process was successfully developed on the basis of the catalytic oxidation of organosulfur compounds using TBA-Si2W18Mn4@SAB as catalyst and CH3COOH/H2O2 as oxidizing agent. The removal of the sulfur content of gasoline reached 97% at a temperature of 35 degrees C after 1 h using 0.10 g of the prepared catalyst. Various experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of reaction time, catalyst amount, reaction temperature and catalyst type on sulfur removal efficiency. The heterogeneous TBA-Si2W18Mn4@SAB catalyst was found to be reusable for five times. The obtained data illustrated that the use of the TBA-Si2W18Mn4@SAB/CH3COOH/H2O2 oxidation system could be a convenient strategy for reducing the sulfur content of gasoline fuel under moderate reaction conditions.