Study on the Surface Structure of Nano-ZnO Desulfurizers and Their Performance and Mechanism in H2S Removal at Room Temperature

This study investigates the performance and underlying mechanism of nano-ZnO desulfurizers with varying particle sizes for hydrogen sulfide (H2S) removal at room temperature. Nano-ZnO samples with different particle sizes were synthesized via the homogeneous precipitation method. The surface structure of the synthesized nano-ZnO was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The desulfurization performance of nano-ZnO improves significantly as the particle size decreases, with the primary mechanism being closely related to oxygen vacancies. Oxygen vacancies enhance H2S adsorption on the ZnO surface and facilitate redox reactions that produce elemental sulfur. MS-H2S-TPSR analysis revealed the formation of polysulfides and the redox processes involving sulfur. The effects of particle size, surface oxygen vacancies, and the distribution of oxidized sulfur species on desulfurization performance are also analyzed.