Effect of ultrasonic treatment on the preparation and performance of Cu (I)/SBA-15 desulfurization adsorbents

A series of Cu (I)/SBA-15 adsorbents were prepared by the methods of ultrasound-assisted impregnation and conventional impregnation, respectively. The thiophene adsorption desulfurization performance of the prepared adsorbents was compared by the static adsorption experiments with the model gasoline. The properties of these adsorbents were characterized by means of BET, TEM and XPS. The experimental results show that the adsorption desulfurization performance of Cu (I)/SBA-15 adsorbents prepared by ultrasound-assisted impregnation is much better than that of the adsorbent prepared by conventional impregnation method. BET results show that ultrasound treatment can promote the active Cu species to disperse on the adsorbents surface. In addition, TEM results show that the Cu particles on the surface of the adsorbents prepared by ultrasound treatment are finer and well-distributed. According to XPS analysis results, it was also found that the application of ultrasound promotes the distribution of Cu ions on the surface of the adsorbents, and increases the Cu (I) loading over the adsorbents obviously, therefore, adsorption desulfurzation performance of the adsorbents prepared with ultrasound treatment can be enhanced.