Poly(ionic liquid)–polyoxometalate/graphene oxide composites as catalysts for deep desulfurization

Abstract

A series of polymer ionic liquid (PIL)-based polyoxometalate (POM) salts were designed and synthesized by an ion exchange method. Then, supported catalysts were prepared by loading the salt onto a graphene oxide (GO) surface. The two groups of materials before and after loading were characterized and used as catalysts for the extraction of oxidative organic sulfides in fuel oils. By contrast, the supported catalyst shows better performance. Then, a response surface methodology was used to analyze the influence of reaction conditions on the removal of thiophene and explore the optimum conditions. In addition, the maximum sulfur removal efficiency of T, BT and DBT can reach up to 98.32, 99.98 and 99.28%, respectively. In addition, the catalyst can be easily recovered and reused without any significant decrease in the activity even after ten cycles.