effect of polymeric surfactants in alumina synthesis used in deep oxidative desulfurization of diesel fuels

a series of alumina powders were synthesized from inexpensive sodium aluminate precursor using cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (ctab) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (pvp) polymeric surfactants with a simple sol-gel method. the various alumina synthesized were used as catalyst supports. synthesized powders were characterized by x-ray diffraction (xrd) which indicates forming of alumina in presence of different types of surfactants. ni or mo was loaded on supports by an incipient wetness impregnation (iwi) method due to evaluating the effect of different active phases of mo and ni on deep oxidative desulfurization of diesel fuels. the oxidation occurred under moderate reaction conditions (temperature of 60°c and atmospheric pressure) in presence of h₂o₂ as an oxidizing agent and subsequently s-contents separation by acetonitrile as an effective extracting solvent. the conversion of dbt in presence of provided catalysts measured by uv-visible. pvp modified synthesis powders showed the highest conversion of 94% toward desulfurization of dibenzothiophene (dbt) from model diesel fuel.