Carbon-supported vanadium nitride catalyst, prepared from urea-loaded MIL-100(V) in the absence of external ammonia flow, having good performance in oxidative desulfurization

Vanadium nitride was firstly applied to oxidative desulfurization (ODS) of liquid fuel. Carbon-supported vanadium nitride (VN@C) was prepared from pyrolysis of urea-loaded MOF, MIL-100(V), especially in the absence of external ammonia flow. One catalyst prepared at 1100 °C, VN@C(1100), had the highest turnover frequency of 18.8 h⁻¹ (with a very low activation energy of 29.9 kJmol^-1) among the reported vanadium-based catalysts. The ESR and scavenger experiments confirmed •OH radical was the active species for the ODS. Calculations using density functional theory could support the beneficial role of VN (compared with conventional oxides) both in the adsorption of H₂O₂ and •OH and H₂O₂ activation to form •OH radical. The VN@C(1100) catalyst could be used for five cycles without any loss in activity. Therefore, supported vanadium nitrides could be suggested as a potential catalyst for oxidations that use H₂O₂ as an oxidant. Moreover, supported vanadium nitrides could be facilely derived from the pyrolysis of urea-loaded V-based MOFs, without ammonia flow.