Evaluation of anodic materials in electrocatalytic oxidative desulfurization

Electrochemical oxidative desulfurization is a highly attractive strategy for achieving low sulfur content in fuel oils. Compared with current hydrodesulfurization methods, electrochemical oxidative desulfurization offers relatively mild operating conditions, minimal waste generation, and electrode tunability. Despite the growth in interest, information about electrode materials and their performance for electrochemical oxidative desulfurization is scattered without an organized comparison. This review highlights the different materials that have been used for electrochemical oxidative desulfurization and compares their performance and electrochemical properties, with a focus on mechanistic insights that control activity. A wide range of electrode materials are compared and discussed, with a particular emphasis on noble metal, carbon, and metal oxide electrocatalysts. Directions for continued study are identified and standardizations for testing conditions are suggested.