Cyclodextrin-based nano materials as new adsorbents for the adsorptive desulfurization of transportation fuels for fuel cell applications

The presence of sulfur in gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel is one of the major impediments for the rapid development of fuel cell powered automobiles. Adsorptive desulfurization is the most promising approach to produce fuel cell grade transportation fuels. However, the rational design of highly selective adsorbents remains as a major challenge. Thus, transition metal complexes encapsulated in the void spaces of cyclodextrin were studied as new adsorbents for selectively removing organosulfur compounds from transportation fuels. These transition metal inclusion complexes of cyclodextrin were also employed as templates for the generation of metal nanoparticles dispersed mesoporous silica adsorbents. The detailed synthesis, characterization, and performance in the adsorptive desulfurization of transportation fuels were discussed. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 227th ACS National Meeting (Anaheim, CA 3/28/2004-4/1/2004).