A series of the Mn/MgAl mixed oxides were prepared by using acid-processed gelatin method, characterized by XRD, TEM and BET techniques, and applied as sulfur transfer catalysts. It is found that the mixed oxides catalysts achieve the highest oxidative rate when they contain 10% PEG1000. The results also show that the catalytic oxidative rate increases with the surface area of the catalyst. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.