A novel high-performance SnO2 catalyst for oxidative desulfurization under mild conditions

The catalyst SnO2 was prepared by a precipitation method, and then aged and calcined at the optimal temperature of 673 K. The reaction conditions were optimized and the oxidation desulfurization efficiency of the obtained catalyst were evaluated. The sulfur removal rate was 99.8% at the optimum reaction conditions of 0.08 g catalyst, 333 K, O/S = 10, 2 h. The catalytic site in the ODS process of the SnO2 catalyst may be Sn4+/Sn2+ Lewis acids. Furthermore, no significant catalytic performance decrease was observed over 14 reuse cycles. The excellent activity and reusability of the catalyst was attributed to the beneficial effects upon specific surface area and acidic-site strength of the appropriate heat treatment temperature.