Heterogeneous oxidative desulfurization catalysed by titanium grafted mesoporous silica nanoparticles containing tethered hydrophobic ionic liquid: A dual activation mechanism

•Heterogeneous catalysts containing hydrophobic ionic liquid and/or titanium.•The titanium catalysts tested in the oxidative desulfurization of dibenzothiophene (DBT) by using H2O2 as oxidant.•The interactions between DBT and immobilized titanium and ionic liquid have been studied by different techniques.•A dual activation mechanism is proposed.