Ionic liquid-based 3DOM meso/macroporous Mo/TiO2 materials with superior oxidation desulfurization performance at room temperature

Abstract Ionic liquid-based Mo/TiO2 catalyst with highly ordered meso/macroporous structure has been fabricated by two steps self-assembling and applied as catalyst for desulfurization in model fuel. The introduction of ordered secondary mesopores into interconnected macropores not only facilitates mass transfer efficiency of reactant molecules on pore channel, but also increases the internal exposed surface through ordered mesopores. Therefore, the catalytic activity of porous ionic liquid-based Mo/TiO2 catalyst on aromatic sulfur compounds has been significantly improved, 500 ppm of dibenzothiophene (DBT) in model fuel can be successfully removed within 100 min at room temperature. Furthermore, the selectivity for DBT oxidation of catalyst has also been explored in the presence of typical components in real fuel (alkane, olefine and aromatics). As-fabricated catalyst also exhibits excellent reusability even after 10 runs, which makes it a promising catalyst in industry.