Keggin type heteropoly acid, encapsulated in metal-organic framework: A heterogeneous and recyclable nanocatalyst for selective oxidation of sulfides and deep desulfurization of model fuels

• A heteropoly acid encapsulated in metal-organic framework was synthesized and characterized.
• It used as heterogeneous separable catalyst for ODS process.
• It shows selective oxidation of sulfides to corresponding sulfones or sulfoxides.
• It was successfully used for deep desulfurization of model oil.
• There was no considerable loss in catalytic activity after several reaction cycles.

Three hybrid composite materials were prepared by H3PW12O40 (PW), H3PMo12O40 (PMo) and H3SiW12O40 (SiW) into the porous metal-organic framework Cu3(BTC)2 (HKUST-1). The catalyst was characterized by various techniques including powder X-ray diffraction, FT-IR, SEM/EDX and successfully used for the selective oxidation of sulfides. Cyclic voltammetry was further used for the investigation of the redox behavior of this catalyst. Catalytic oxidation of the sulfur-containing model oil was also studied under optimized conditions. The oxidation desulfurization (ODS) system containing the catalyst could be recycled at least four times with only a slight decrease in the catalytic performance. The stability of the catalyst after the catalytic cycles was confirmed by several techniques.

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