Phosphotungstic acid immobilized on magnesium oxide (PW12O40@MgO) as an efficient nanocatalyst for oxidative desulfurization of gasoline

In this manuscript, Keggin-type phosphotungstic acid (H3PW12O40) was immobilized on magnesium oxide (MgO) to prepare PW12O40@MgO nanocomposite. The synthesized materials were characterized by FT-IR, UV-vis, XRD and SEM analysis techniques. The catalytic activity of the prepared composite was evaluated in the oxidative desulfurization (ODS) process of gasoline fuel. The ODS process was successfully developed on the basis of the catalytic oxidation of organosulfur compounds using CH3COOH/H2O2 as an oxidizing agent. The removal of the sulfur content and mercaptan compounds of gasoline reached 98 and 97% at 35 °C after 1 h, respectively. The various experiments were taken into consideration to investigate the effects of catalyst amount and reaction temperature on sulfur removal efficiency. The nanocatalyst was found to give remarkable reusability for five times. This system is suggested as an effective strategy with a great potential in the preparation of clean gasoline fuel.