Oxidation of Dibenzothiophene Catalyzed by Surfactant-Hemoprotein Complexes in Anhydrous Nonpolar Organic Solvents

In anhydrous organic solvents, the complexes formed between AOT (dodecylbenzene sulfuric acid sodium salt) and hemoproteins, such as hemoglobin, myoglobin, or cytochrome c, displayed remarkably higher activity than the hemoprotein powders to oxidize dibenzothiophene, a model compound of organic sulfurs contained in fossil fuels. In slightly hydrophobic organic solvents, such as ethyl acetate and butyl acetate, dibenzothiophene was completely oxidized catalytically by the cytochrome c-AOT complex with cumene hydroperoxide (${\alpha},{\alpha}-dimethylbenzyl$ hydroperoxide) as an oxidant. In highly hydrophobic organic solvents, such as decane and hexadecane, however, the activity of the cytochrome c-AOT complex decreased, presumably due to the aggregation of the hemoprotein-AOT complex in these solvents.