Fabrication of g-C₃N₄ decorated BiVO₄ composites and their application in photoelectrocatalytic and electrocatalytic oxidative desulfurization of dibenzothiophene under visible light irradiation,

 Armin Raeisi, Alireza Najafi Chermahini, Mohammad Mohsen Momeni, Journal of the Iranian Chemical Society, (2023)

A novel photoelectrocatalytic oxidative desulfurization (PEODS) process by using BiVO₄@C₃N₄ composites deposited on fluorine tin oxide glass as a catalyst is designed. Accordingly, g-C₃N₄ and BiVO₄@C₃N₄ composite with different amounts of BiVO₄ (72%, 56%, and 39%) were prepared and used in a biphasic system. Also, photocatalytic oxidative desulfurization (PODS) and electrocatalytic oxidative desulfurization (EODS) systems are studied and compared to PEODS. The BiVO₄@C₃N₄72 (72% BiVO₄) sample showed the best results compared to other composites in PODS. The visible-light sensitivity of the photocatalysts was investigated. This system was studied under different reaction conditions such as reaction times, temperatures, amounts of the oxidizing agent, extractants, catalyst amounts, and solvents. By optimizing the reaction parameters, DBT removal reached 91%, 54%, and 75% for PEODS, EODS, and PEODS, respectively. The stability of the catalyst was investigated by recycling the catalyst at four successive reactions with the same efficiency. By the addition of radical scavengers, the mechanism of the reaction was studied and the desulfurization decreased to 67%, 72%, and 64% for BQ, EDTA, and isopropanol, respectively.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13738-023-02762-5