Design, synthesis and characterization of vanadia-doped iron-oxide pillared montmorillonite clay for the selective catalyticoxidation of H2S

Abstract

A series of vanadia-doped iron-oxide-pillared clays (V/Fe-PILCs) with various amounts of vanadia were prepared and their performance for the selective catalytic oxidation of H₂S was investigated. V/Fe-PILCs were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area- and pore volume measurements, chemical analysis, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and temperature-programmed reduction by H₂ (H₂-TPR). V/Fe-PILCs showed better catalytic performance than Fe-PILC without any significant SO₂ emissions. The H₂S conversion over V/Fe-PILCs increased with increasing vanadia content up to 7 wt.%. However, it decreased at higher vanadia loading due to the decrease in surface area and the formation of the crystalline V₂O₅ phase. The presence of water vapor in the reactant mixture resulted in a decrease of H₂S conversion.