One-step synthesis of flower-like MgO/Carbon materials for efficient H2S oxidation at room temperature

Regenerable materials with abundant basic sites and sulfur storage space are highly desirable for the removal of H 2 S. In this work, we synthesized a flower-like MgO/Carbon material by one-step carbonization of magnesium gluconate and applied it for H 2 S oxidation at room temperature. The results demonstrate that the high content of MgO and super-hydrophilic surface of the MgO/Carbon provide abundant basic sites for the adsorption and dissociation of H 2 S. Moreover, carbon defects and a well‐developed pore structure offer active sites for the desulfurization reaction and large space for storage of sulfur products. Consequently, the MgO/Carbon materials exhibit excellent H 2 S oxidation performance, which is far superior to that of commercial activated carbon. In addition, the MgO/Carbon materials show extraordinary regeneration capacity and maintain their high performance even after 5 cycles of desulfurization/regeneration. Furthermore, mechanisms for the H 2 S oxidation process, deactivation and regeneration are proposed based on the experimental and characterization results. Considering the simple preparation process, excellent desulfurization and regeneration performance of as-prepared MgO/Carbon material, our findings provide a new strategy for the design of efficient desulfurizers.