Ce2(MoO4)3 as an efficient catalyst for aerobic oxidative desulfurization of fuels

Ce 2 (MoO 4 ) 3 was synthesized by a simple reflux method using cerium nitrate hexahydrate and ammonium molybdate as reactants. The as-prepared Ce 2 (MoO 4 ) 3 was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The removal of dibenzothiophene (DBT) in model oil was studied using Ce 2 (MoO 4 ) 3 as catalyst and oxygen as oxidant. The reaction factors such as reaction temperature, amount of catalyst, and sulfide type on sulfur removal were researched. The results prove that both Ce 3+ and MoO 4 2- play significant role in the conversion from DBT to DBTO 2 . The Ce 2 (MoO 4 ) 3 catalyst has an excellent performance for the sulfur removal of DBT. Under the optimum reaction conditions, sulfur removal of 99.6% was obtained. After recycling five times, no significant loss in catalyst activity of Ce 2 (MoO 4 ) 3 . Mechanism of aerobic oxidative desulfurization was proposed based on the experiment of free radical capture and infrared characterization.