Enhancement of oxidative desulfurization performance over amorphous titania by doping MIL-101(Cr)

•Oxidative desulfurization performance of amorphous titania can be enhanced by doping MIL-101(Cr).•The reaction rate constant over the catalyst with 10% doping content reached 340 × 10−3 min−1.•Such catalytic performance could be attributed to the enhanced dispersity of amorphous titania.

High performance MIL-101(Cr)-TiO2 composite material was successfully prepared by doping MIL-101(Cr) in amorphous titania and evaluated for oxidative desulfurization (ODS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) using cumene hydroperoxide (CHP) as oxidant. The experimental results showed that introduction of MIL-101(Cr) favored the catalytic centers titania to get high dispersion. Remarkably, the reaction rate constant over the catalyst with 10% dopant concentration reached 340 × 10−3 min−1, which was seven times as that of amorphous titania and much higher than that of reported titania composites or metal-organic framework-based catalysts.

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