Facile fabrication of AgCl nanoparticles and their application in adsorptive desulfurization

Adsorption via π-complexation is highly promising for selective removal of aromatic sulfur from transportation fuels. Because adsorbents play a crucial role in the process of desulfurization, the development of efficient adsorbents attracts increasing attention recently. In the present study, AgCl nanoparticles were employed as π-complexation adsorbents for adsorptive desulfurization, for the first time. A facile strategy for the fabrication of AgCl nanoparticles was designed in aqueous phase with the assistance of surfactant (namely, cetyltrimethylammonium chloride). The present strategy avoids the use of cosurfactant and oil phase that is compulsory for the traditional microemulsion method. As a result, the synthetic system is greatly simplified and the synthetic controllability is improved. By adjusting the reaction temperature, both size and morphology of AgCl nanoparticles can be well controlled. We also demonstrate that the obtained AgCl nanoparticles are active in adsorptive desulfurization, and the adsorption capacity can be well correlated with the particle size of AgCl. The high accessibility of active Ag(I) sites in AgCl nanoparticles is believed to be responsible for the good adsorptive desulfurization capacity. The present study may open a way for the development of new, efficient adsorbents based on nanoparticles.