Effect of Surface Hydrophilicity on the Desulfurization Performance of ZnO/SiO2 Composite

Two kinds of ZnO/SiO2 composite (labled as SZ-1 and SZ-2) were synthesized by sol–gel method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) spectra and Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform (DRIFT) spectra. Water adsorption on the prepared sample was studied by in situ DRIFT. The as-synthesized SZ-1 and SZ-2 sample have different surface property due to the various aging methods in the sample preparation processes, thus showing different results of water adsorption. The adsorption sites (Si atom in Si–O–Si bond) on the surface of SZ-2 for water molecule are occupied by the –OCH3 group and the hydrophilicity of SZ-2 is weaker, in comparison to SZ-1, which inhibits the formation of water film and ultimately decreases desulfurization performance of SZ-2. So, the desulfurization performance can be changed by altering the hydrophilicity of sorbent.