Oxidative desulfurization of benzothiophene and thiophene with WOx/ZrO2 catalysts: Effect of calcination temperature of catalysts

► Oxidative desulfurization was studied with WOx/ZrO2 calcined at different temp. ► The importance of the phases of zirconia and tungsten oxide was suggested. ► The catalyst was analyzed thoroughly with Raman and XRD techniques. ► The importance of electron density on S was confirmed with the kinetics of oxidation.