Hierarchical Porous N-Doped Carbon Particles Derived from ZIF-8 as Highly Efficient H₂S Selective Oxidation Catalysts

In the selective oxidation of H₂S, the catalytic activity over N-doped carbon-based catalysts is significantly influenced by the accessibility of active sites and the mass transfer rates of reactant molecules (e.g., H₂S and O₂) as well as generated sulfur monomers. Therefore, it is crucial for enhancing the initial performance via the controlled synthesis of carbon-based catalysts with highly exposed active sites and unique porous structures. Herein, we reported on an efficient strategy to synthesize nanosized N-doped carbon particles with hierarchical porous structures by directly pyrolyzing an oversaturated NaCl-encapsulated ZIF-8 precursor mixture. The introduction of NaCl not only serves as a pollution-free template to promote the formation of graphitic carbon layers but also acts as an intercalating agent to guide the derivation of hierarchical porous structures, as well as enhances the amount of active nitrogen species in the catalysts. As a result, the as-prepared H-NC800 catalyst shows excellent H₂S selective oxidation performance (sulfur formation rate is 794 g_sulfur·kg_cat^-1·h^-1), good stability (>80 h), and antiwater vapor properties. The characterization results and DFT calculations indicate the crucial role of pyridinic N in the adsorbing and activating reactant molecules (H₂S, O₂). Furthermore, nanoscale N-doped carbon particles accelerated the rapid transport of generated sulfur monomers under a hierarchical porous structure. This investigation introduces a distinctive strategy for synthesizing ZIF-8-derived N-doped carbon nanosized with a hierarchical porous structure, while its efficient and stable H₂S selective oxidation performance highlights significant potential for practical implementation in the industrial desulfurization process.