Ultralow loading of Cu2O/CuO nanoparticles on metal-organic framework-derived carbon octahedra and activated semi-coke for highly efficient SO2 removal

A highly efficient desulfurizer is derived from a sacrificial Cu-based metal-organic framework (MOF) template, which is loaded on low-cost activated semi-cokes. The carbonized composite possesses highly-dispersed copper oxide nanoparticles (Cu2O/CuO) as active sites, which are distributed on MOF-derived carbon octahedra and activated semi-cokes. With an ultralow surface loading of 0.19 at% Cu and a high proportion of Cu+, the optimized sample shows an excellent breakthrough time of 822 min and SO2 adsorption capacity of 233.11 mg/g with a steady SO2 removal efficiency of 100%, which is superior to previously reported coke-base desulfurizers in literature. Meanwhile, the best-performed sample shows stability and reversibility for SO2 removal during 10 desulfurization-regeneration cycles. The excellent SO2 removal performance can be attributed to a well developed porous structure and highly-dispersed copper oxide active sites due to the utilization of both sacrificial MOF template and activated semi-coke.