Boosting Catalytic Oxidative Desulfurization Performance over Yolk-Shell Nickel Molybdate Fabricated by Defect Engineering

Developing catalysts with optimized surface propertiesis significantfor advanced catalysis. Herein, a rational architectural design isproposed to successfully synthesize yolk-shell nickel molybdatewith abundant oxygen vacancies (YS-V-O-NMO) via an acid-assisteddefect engineering strategy. Notably, YS-V-O-NMO with theyolk-shell structure shows complex nanoconfined interior space,which is beneficial to the mass transfer and active sites exposure.Moreover, the defect engineering strategy is of great importance tomodulate the surface electronic structure and atomic composition,which contributes to the enrichment of oxygen vacancies. Benefitingfrom these features, the higher hydrogen peroxide activation is achievedby YS-V-O-NMO to produce more hydroxyl radicals comparedwith untreated nickel molybdate. Consequently, the defect-engineeredYS-V-O-NMO not only features superior catalytic activity(99.5%) but also retains high desulfurization efficiency after recyclingeight times. This manuscript provides new inspiration for designingmore promising defective materials via defect engineering and architecturefor different applications besides oxidative desulfurization. A rational architectural design is proposedto successfullysynthesize yolk-shell nickel molybdate with abundant oxygenvacancies (YS-V-O-NMO) via an acid-assisted defect engineeringstrategy. Notably, 99.5% of DBT can be removed within 70 min overthe obtained YS-V-O-NMO due to the formation of optimizedmorphology and numerous oxygen vacancies.