Highly Ordered Mesoporous WO3 with Excellent Catalytic Performance and Reusability for Deep Oxidative Desulfurization

Highly ordered mesoporous tungsten trioxide ( WO 3 ) with high surface area (75 m 2 /g) and well-defined mesopores were successfully prepared through a hard templating method using a mesoporous silica KIT-6 as a template and ( NH 4 ) 6 H 2 W 12 O 40 ⋅ x H 2 O as a tungsten precursor. Oxidative desulfurization of a model oil with H 2 O 2 as the oxidant was carried out at 50°C under atmospheric pressure in order to analyze the catalytic activity. The desulfurization reactions were optimized by various kinds of reaction parameters such as H 2 O 2 / S molar ratio, reaction temperatures and series of sulfur-containing compounds [dibenzothiophene (DBT), benzothiophene (BT) and 4,6-dimethyl dibenzothiophene (4,6-DMBT)]. Excellent catalytic activity for the removal of the sulfur-containing compounds from the model oil was observed with mesoporous WO 3 catalyst, where the activity was maintained during 5 recycle tests without any regeneration process. The high catalytic activity and durability is mainly attributed to well-defined mesopores and high surface area of mesoporous WO 3 catalyst.