Syntheses and ultra-deep desulfurization performance of sandwich-type polyoxometalate-based TiO2 nanofibres

The sandwich-type polyoxometalate-based TiO 2 nanofibres were prepared successfully by electrospinning combining with chemical reaction and employed in ultra-deep desulfurization. OTA–CoVW–TiO 2 nanofibres (OTA = CH 3 (CH 2 ) 17 (CH 3 ) 3 N, CoVW = [Co 4 (H 2 O) 2 (VW 9 O 34 ) 2 ] 10− ) confirmed the excellent desulfurization performance in extraction catalytic oxidative desulfurization system (ECODS). At 323 K, the 500 ppm DBT (dibenzothiophene) model oil was entirely removed within 20 min using 0.010 g 45 wt% OTA–CoVW–TiO 2 nanofibres as catalyst when O/S molar ratio was 4:1 and the dosage of model oil was 5 mL. The catalysts could be recycled and reused at least five times without remarkable decrease in catalytic activity. The desulfurization efficiencies for different substrates were shown as following order: DBT > 4,6-DMDBT (4,6-dimethyl-dibenzothiophene) > BT (benzothiophene). Moreover, the possible mechanism was also elucidated.