Adsorption desulfurization of model gasoline by metal–organic framework Ni3(BTC)2

Abstract This work presented the synthesis of Ni-based metal-organic framework material with a paddle-wheel structure Ni3(BTC)2 (Ni-BTC) and its application in thiophene (TP) adsorption from gasoline distillate by batch method. Adsorption isotherms of TP, cyclohexene, and toluene in cyclohexane onto Ni-BTC were conducted at 298–308 K to interpret the different effect of cyclohexene and toluene on TP adsorption. The results showed that, compared with cyclohexene, toluene addition in model gasoline led to a more evident decline in sulfur capacity of Ni-BTC, which is opposite to isostructural HKUST-1. The adsorption isotherms of TP, cyclohexene and toluene fit Langmuir model, S-type model and Temkin model well, respectively, indicating that the adsorption mechanisms of TP and the two competitors are different from one another. The adsorption capacities on Ni-BTC followed the order of cyclohexene