SBA-15 Supported Benzimidazolium-based Ionic Liquids: Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications in the Fuel Desulfurization

SBA-15 supported benzimidazolium-based ionic liquid (SBA-15@[BzIm][Cl]) has been synthesized with immobilization of trimethoxysilane-modified 1-methylbenzimidazolium chloride ([BzIm][Cl]) onto synthesized SBA-15 silica support material. SBA-15 and SBA-15@[BzIm][Cl] were characterized using FTIR, SEM, TEM, EDS, SAXS, BET, and NMR spectroscopy. The variation was found in the morphology as well as structure of SBA-15@ [BzIm][Cl] with variation in the content of [BzIm][Cl]. The application of synthesized SBA-15 supported [BzIm] [Cl] was studied for the removal of sulfur compounds from model fuel and real gasoline samples. It was found that in contrast to pure SBA-15, supported ionic liquids (SILs) showed higher efficiency for the adsorption of different sulfur-containing aromatic heterocyclic compounds from model fuel. Similarly, SIL having large IL content was found more efficient in the removal of sulfurous compounds from model and real gasoline samples in comparison to SIL having lesser IL content. Moreover, the adsorbents were reused 10 times without any sig-nificant loss in adsorption efficiency.