Shape-controlled synthesis of the metal-organic framework MIL-125 towards a highly enhanced catalytic performance for the oxidative desulfurization of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene.

Nanoscale MIL-125 crystals with truncated octahedral shape were synthesized through the coordination modulation method using butyric acid as the modulator. Compared to the traditional MIL-125 crystals with dominant {001} facets, the truncated octahedral crystals are dominated by {101} facets as the exposed crystal facets. The MIL-125 crystals with different morphology exhibit significant facet-dependent catalytic activity for the oxidative desulfurization (ODS) reaction. The truncated octahedral MIL-125 crystals show remarkably enhanced catalytic performance towards oxidative desulfurization of the most refractory sulfur compound 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (4,6-DMDBT). It is demonstrated that the shape-controlled synthesis of nanoscale MIL-125 is a promising way to promote its catalytic performance towards the reaction involving bulky molecules.