Oxidation of dibenzothiophene catalyzed by [C8H17N(CH3)3]3H3V10O28 using molecular oxygen as oxidant.

An isopolyoxovanadate catalyst [C(8)H(17)N(CH(3))(3)](3)H(3)V(10)O(28) shows high catalytic activity in oxidation of dibenzothiophene (DBT) to its corresponding sulfone using molecular oxygen as oxidant under mild reaction conditions. This is potentially a promising approach to achieve ultradeep desulfurization of fuels (e.g. diesel) because the sulfones can be more conveniently removed from the fuels by either extraction or selective adsorption.