A series of Zn-modified NaY zeolites were prepared by the liquid-phase ion-exchange method with different Zn sources, including Zn(NO3)2, Zn(Ac)2 and ZnSO4. The samples were tested as adsorbents for removing an organic sulfur compound from a model gasoline fuel containing 1000 ppmw sulfur. Zn(Ac)2-Y exhibited the best performance for the desulfurization of gasoline at ambient conditions. Combined with the adsorbents’ characterization results, the higher adsorption capacity of Zn(Ac)2-Y is associated with a higher ion-exchange degree. Further, the results demonstrated that the addition of 5 wt % toluene or 1-hexene to the diluted thiophene (TP) solution in cyclohexane caused a large decrease in the removal of TP from the model gasoline fuel. This provides evidence about the competition through the π-complexation between TP and toluene for adsorption on the active sites. The acid-catalyzed alkylation by 1-hexene of TP and the generated complex mixture of bulky alkylthiophenes would adsorb on the surface active sites of the adsorbent and block the pores. The regenerated Zn(Ac)2-Y adsorbent afforded 84.42% and 66.10% of the initial adsorption capacity after the first two regeneration cycles.

NiCeY zeolites were prepared by ion-exchanging NaY with 0.1 M Ni(NO3)2 and 0.1 M Ce(NO3)3 solution.

Bimetallic zeolites (CuAgY) were prepared by co-exchanging NaY in a mixed solution of AgNO3 and Cu(NO3)2. The highest sulfur adsorption capacity of CuAgY was achieved at 323 K, which is 60.98 mgS g−1.

Three amino-functionalized alkaline earth Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), including Mg-ABDC [Mg(ABDC)(DMF)], Ca-ABDC [Ca(ABDC)(DMF)] and Sr-ABDC [Sr(ABDC)(DMF)](ABDC = 2-aminobenzene-1,4-dicarboxylate anion), were synthesized under solvothermal conditions. The incorporation of alkaline earth metals and N-containing ligands is an effective way to increase the basicity of MOFs. To explore catalytic activity of three alkaline earth MOFs, they were applied to catalyze the Knoevenagel condensation of benzaldehyde with ethyl cyanoa-cetate to produce ethyl (E)-α-cyanocinnamate. All three alkaline earth MOFs had high catalytic performance, among which Mg-ABDC showed the best performance. The activity of catalyst was expressed by the conversion rate and selectivity. The conversation rate was up to 94.7 % and the selectivity was nearly 100 % by adding Mg-ABDC. Mg-ABDC was proved to be an efficient, stable and heterogeneous catalyst through hot filtration and recycling tests.