A Molecular Analogue of the C−H Activation Intermediate of the Silica-Supported Ga(III) Single-Site Propane Dehydrogenation Catalyst: Structure and XANES Signature

Propane dehydrogenation is an important field of research due to an increasing world-wide demand of propene while classical production routes through naphtha cracking are in decline. In that context, silica-supported Ga(III) sites, synthesized from surface organometallic chemistry principles, show high selectivity and stability in the propane dehydrogenation reaction. This performance is in significant contrast to the reported fast deactivation and lower selectivity of most Ga₂O₃ and CrO₃ based materials. The Ga-catalyzed propane dehydrogenation reaction is proposed to proceed through the formation of Ga alkyl intermediates for which it would be desirable to have detailed structural and spectroscopic information. Here, we prepare a consistent series of Ga(III) molecular complexes with varying numbers of alkyl and siloxide ligands; they are characterized by single crystal X-Ray diffraction and X-Ray Absorption Near Edge Structure analysis, which is known to be highly sensitive to the Ga coordination environment. We report in particular the structure and the spectroscopic signatures of [Ga(ⁱPr)(OSi(O^tBu)₃)₂(HOSi(O^tBu)₃)], a molecular mimic of the key proposed reaction intermediates in the Ga-catalyzed PDH reaction.     

Synergetic effect between NiO and Ni3V2O8 in propane oxidative dehydrogenation

The oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of propane was investigated on Ni-V-O catalysts in a wide range of vanadium contents (5-40%). The addition of a small amount of vanadium significantly increased the catalytic activity of NiO for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to propene. The formation of propene has a good correlation with the coexistence of NiO and Ni₃V₂O₈. This result strongly suggests that a synergetic effect exists between them in Ni_XV_1-XO_Y (X = 0.95 to 0.6). The best results were obtained with a high Ni/V ratio (e.g. X = 0.95 to 0.85). The active sites and selective oxygen species are discussed. The influence of the catalyst preparation technique and the redox properties of the catalyst were also examined.     

Comparative study of coke deposition on catalysts in reactions with and without oxygen

Two types of catalysts, i.e. Pt/γ Al₂O₃ and Cu/Na-ZSM-5, were used to investigate the catalyst activity and amount of coke formation on the spent catalysts. The reactions of particular interest were the hydrocarbon oxidation and the SCR of NO with and without O₂. Propane and propene were used as the hydrocarbon sources. The reaction conditions were as follows: reaction temperature =170–500°C, GHSV=4,000 hr⁻¹, TOS=2 hr, feed composition depending on each reaction, but the composition of gases were fixed as HC=3,000 ppm, NO=1,000 ppm and O₂=2.5%, using He balance. It was found that both the case of Pt/γ Al₂O₃ and the case of Cu/Na-ZSM-5, propene provided higher conversion and coke deposition than propane in the presence or the absence of O₂ and/or NO. For Pt/γ Al₂O₃ catalyst, in case of the absence of oxygen reactions, the propene conversion dropped more rapidly than the propane conversion. Finally the reaction of propene gave a lower percent of hydrocarbon conversion than the reaction of propane. Additionally, propene had a higher percent selectivity of coke formation for the reaction with the absence of oxygen, but propane had a higher percent selectivity of coke formation for the reaction with the presence of oxygen. For Cu/Na-ZSM-5, in the system with absence and presence of oxygen, the addition of oxygen caused a significant change in % coke selectivity. With the presence of NO_x, the percent conversion of both propane and propene decreased and that the % coke selectivity of propane decreased, whereas that of in propene increased.     

Oxidative dehydrogenation of propane by nitrous oxide and/or oxygen over Co beta zeolite

The oxidative dehydrogenation of propane has been studied with nitrous oxide (or mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen) as oxidant. Nitrous oxide is a more selective but less active oxidant as compared with molecular oxygen. Upon increasing the concentration of N2O in the reaction mixture of propane and oxygen results in a substantial increase of propane conversion, while the selectivity to propene remains constant. The synergistic effect of O₂ and N₂O leads to a threefold higher yield of propene relative to than that of oxygen or nitrous alone. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

ZrO2‐Based Alternatives to Conventional Propane Dehydrogenation Catalysts: Active Sites,Design, and Performance

Non‐oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to propene is an established large‐scale process that, however, faces challenges, particularly in catalyst development; these are the toxicity of chromium compounds, high cost of platinum, and catalyst durability. Herein, we describe the design of unconventional catalysts based on bulk materials with a certain defect structure, for example, ZrO₂ promoted with other metal oxides. Comprehensive characterization supports the hypothesis that coordinatively unsaturated Zr cations are the active sites for propane dehydrogenation. Their concentration can be adjusted by varying the kind of ZrO₂ promoter and/or supporting tiny amounts of hydrogenation‐active metal. Accordingly designed Cu(0.05 wt %)/ZrO₂‐La₂O₃ showed industrially relevant activity and durability over ca. 240 h on stream in a series of 60 dehydrogenation and oxidative regeneration cycles between 550 and 625 °C.     

Oxidative dehydrogenation of propane over chromium and nickel oxide modified V2O5/ZrO2 catalysts

The effect of addition of chromium and nickel oxides on the physicochemical properties and performance of V₂O₅/ZrO₂ catalysts was studied for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane. Addition of chromium oxide increased, whereas addition of nickel oxide lowered the activity. Selectivity for propene was lower for the doped catalysts. The selectivity was lowered by higher total acidity as well as the higher concentration of stronger acid sites in doped catalysts.     

SBA-15 负载 β-Mg2V2O7 催化剂的制备及其催化丙烷选择氧化脱氢的性能

 以 MgO 修饰的 SBA-15 为载体, 采用浸渍法制备了负载 β-Mg2V2O7 催化剂, 并运用 X 射线衍射、拉曼光谱、紫外-可见漫反射光谱和 H2 程序升温还原等技术对催化剂 V 中心的结构和还原性能进行了表征. 结果表明, β-Mg2V2O7 具有与 α-Mg2V2O7 相同的结构单元, 但其催化丙烷氧化脱氢 (ODH) 反应的初始活性和初始选择性均低于后者. 与体相 β-Mg2V2O7 相比, 负载的 β-Mg2V2O7 上 V 中心分散度以及丙烷 ODH 反应活性和选择性更高, 520 oC 时丙烷 ODH 反应的初始活性提高了约 20 倍, 丙烯初始选择性也从体相的 88.3% 提高到 94.1%, 接近于 α-Mg2V2O7 (94.6%), 并且在 20% 的丙烷转化率时也表现出相似的规律. 这与表征催化剂选择性的两个本征动力学参数 k1/k2 (丙烷初级 ODH 和燃烧反应速率常数之比) 和 k3/k1 (次级丙烯燃烧和初级丙烷 ODH 反应速率常数之比) 反映出的规律一致. 这些对体相和负载的 Mg2V2O7 催化剂催化丙烷 ODH 反应本征特性的认识将有助于设计合成更高效的 Mg-V-O 催化剂, 如基于 α-Mg2V2O7 结构的高分散催化剂, 以获得更高的丙烷 ODH 反应活性和选择性.     

Simultaneous propane dehydrogenation andco2hydrogenation overCrOx/SiO2catalyst

Summary Single reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) and dehydrogenation of propane with CO₂(DH-CO₂) reactions in the presence and absence of the CrO_x/SiO₂ catalyst have been studied between 673 and 873 K. It was found that the CrO_x/SiO₂ catalyst is active both in the dehydrogenation of propane and in the RWGS reactions. The obtained results suggest that the dehydrogenation of propane to propene in the presence of CO₂on CrO_x/SiO₂can be facilitated by the RWGS reaction.</o:p>     

Molecular mechanism of propane oxidative dehydrogenation on surface oxygen radical sites of VO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> catalysts

Minimum energy pathways of propane oxidative dehydrogenation to propene and propanol on supported vanadium oxide catalyst VO _x /TiO₂ were studied by periodic discrete Fourier transform (DFT) using a surface oxygen radical as the active site. The propene formation pathway was shown to consist of two consecutive hydrogen abstraction steps. The first step includes C_β–H bond activation of propane followed by the formation of a surface hydroxyl group V–O _t H and a propyl radical n-C₃H₇. This step with the activation energy E* = 0.56 eV (54.1 kJ/mol) appears to be rate-determining. The second step involves the reaction of the bridging O _b oxygen atom with the methylene C–H bond of propyl radical n-C₃H₇ followed by the formation of a hydroxylated surface site HO _t –V⁴⁺–O _b H and propene. The initial steps of the C–H bond activation during propane conversion to propanol and propene by ODH on V⁵⁺–(O _t O _b )^? active sites are identical. The obtained results demonstrate that participation of surface oxygen radicals as the active sites of propane ODH makes it possible to explain relatively low activation energies observed for this reaction on the most active catalysts. The presence of very active radical species in low concentration seems to be the key factor for obtaining high selectivity.     

Catalytic properties of the VO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">х</Emphasis></Subscript>/Ce<Subscript>0.46</Subscript>Zr<Subscript>0.54</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> oxide system in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane

Ce_0.46Zr_0.54O₂ solid solution prepared using a cellulose template was employed as a carrier for vanadium catalysts of the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane. The properties of VO _х /Ce_0.46Zr_0.54O₂ catalyst (5 wt % vanadium) are compared with the properties of the neat support. The carrier and catalyst are studied by means of BET, SEM, DTA, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. It is shown that the CeVO₄ phase responsible for the ODH process is formed upon interaction between vanadate ions and cerium ions on the surface of the solid solution. The catalytic properties of the catalyst and the support are studied in the propane oxidation reaction at temperatures of 450 and 500°C with pulse feeding of the reagent. It is found that the complete oxidation of propane occurs on the support with formation of CO₂ and H₂O. Three products (propene, CO₂, and H₂O) form in the presence of the vanadium catalyst. It is suggested that there are two types of catalytic centers on the catalyst’s surface. It is concluded that the centers responsible for the complete oxidation of propane are concentrated mainly on the carrier, while the centers responsible for propane ODH are on the CeVO₄.     

Effect of the rhenium additive to VOx/TiO2 and MoOx/TiO2 catalysts on their properties in oxidative dehydrogenation of propane

VO_x/TiO₂ and MoO_x/TiO₂ catalysts with the addition of Re (Re/V or Mo = 0.5) were synthetized and tested in oxidative dehydrogenation of propane and in reduction by propane. XPS measurements showed depletion of the surface in Re. The Re additive does not affect the total conversion of propane, but increases the selectivity to propene. The effect is more pronounced for the MoO_x/TiO₂ catalyst. The increase in the selectivity to propene is accompanied with the increase in the reducibility of the catalysts.     

Influence of redox properties on the activity of iron oxide catalysts in dehydrogenation of propane with CO2

Different Fe-containing catalysts (pure Fe₂O₃, Fe₂O₃ supported on active carbon or g-Al₂O₃, and hydrotalcite derived Mg-Fe oxides) were examined in the dehydrogenation of propane performed in an Ar or CO₂ atmosphere at 873 K. A promoting effect of carbon dioxide was found for the Fe₂O₃ and Fe₂O₃/AC samples. The catalytic results are discussed in terms of redox properties of the catalysts determined by temperature-programmed reduction (TPR). This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

ZSM-5催化丙烯芳构化反应构效关系及反应特性

甲醇两步制芳烃反应中低碳烯烃芳构化反应稳定性优异,为分析其内在机制,制备了不同硅铝比(n_SiO2/n_Al2O3)及Zn负载量的ZSM-5催化剂,以丙烯芳构化为模型反应,分析ZSM-5表面酸性对低碳烯烃芳构化反应性能的影响规律,并探究反应微观特性。发现当硅铝比由150降至75时,增加的酸密度促进了烯烃氢转移芳构化过程,使芳烃选择性由31.0%增至34.4%,但丙烯直接参与的氢转移过程也被强化,使丙烷产物选择性由28.2%增至36.0%。引入Zn助剂可将部分Br?nsted酸转变为ZnLewis酸,强化烯烃脱氢芳构化过程,使芳烃选择性进一步显著增加到62.4%。丙烯芳构化过程中芳烃烷基化深度比甲醇芳构化过程低,提升总芳烃选择性的同时,也明显抑制了难溶性积碳的形成,使反应稳定性明显提升。由此得出,甲醇两步制芳烃过程中甲醇制低碳烯烃过程对甲醇的预先消耗,抑制了低碳烯烃芳构化反应芳烃产物的深度烷基化,是该反应表现出优异稳定性的重要原因。     

Surface Chemistry and Catalytic Reactivity of Borocarbonitride in Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane

Borocarbonitride (BCN) materials are newly developed oxidative dehydrogenation catalysts that can efficiently convert alkanes to alkenes. However, BCN materials tend to form bulky B₂O₃ due to over-oxidation at the high reaction temperature, resulting in significant deactivation. Here, we report a series of super stable BCN nanosheets for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODHP) reaction. The catalytic performance of the BCN nanosheets can be easily regulated by changing the guanine dosage. The control experiment and structural characterization indicate that the introduction of a suitable amount of carbon could prevent the formation of excessive B₂O₃ from BCN materials and maintain the 2D skeleton at a high temperature of 520 °C. The best-performing catalyst BCN exhibits 81.9 % selectivity towards olefins with a stable propane conversion of 35.8 %, and the propene productivity reaches 16.2 mmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹, which is much better than hexagonal BN (h-BN) catalysts. Density functional theory calculation results show that the presence of dispersed rather than aggregated carbon atoms can significantly affect the electronic microenvironment of h-BN, thereby boosting the catalytic activity of BCN.     

Controlling Metal-Oxide Reducibility for Efficient C−H Bond Activation in Hydrocarbons

Knowing the structure of catalytically active species/phases and providing methods for their purposeful generation are two prerequisites for the design of catalysts with desired performance. Herein, we introduce a simple method for precise preparation of supported/bulk catalysts. It utilizes the ability of metal oxides to dissolve and to simultaneously precipitate during their treatment in an aqueous ammonia solution. Applying this method for a conventional VO_x−Al₂O₃ catalyst, the concentration of coordinatively unsaturated Al sites was tuned simply by changing the pH value of the solution. These sites affect the strength of V−O−Al bonds of isolated VO_x species and thus the reducibility of the latter. This method is also applicable for controlling the reducibility of bulk catalysts as demonstrated for a CeO₂−ZrO₂−Al₂O₃ system. The application potential of the developed catalysts was confirmed in the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene with CO₂ and in the non-oxidative propane dehydrogenation to propene. Our approach is extendable to the preparation of any metal oxide catalysts dissolvable in an ammonia solution.     

Thermal activation of typical oxidative dehydrogenation catalyst precursors belonging to the Ni−Mo−O system

NiMoO₄ obtained by calcination of precursors has been shown to be a very effective catalyst for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane into propene. Preparation conditions and thermal decomposition of two precursors have been studied by TG-DTA, HTXRD, FFT-IR, and thermo-desorption coupled to mass spectroscopy in order to determine their composition and to define the best treatment to favour the oxidative dehydrogenation process. The selectivity and activity for propane transformation into propene are very different depending on the nature of the precursor and of the active phases obtained after thermal activation. The more selective high-temperature β phase of NiMoO₄ has been obtained at a lower temperature (500°C) than previously reported (700°C).     

Roles of surface nitrogen oxides in propene activation and NO reduction on Ag/Al2O3

The activation of propene in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO on 4% Ag/Al₂O₃ has been studied by in situ infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Distinctive propene activation products were detected in the SCR of NO, depending on the nature of surface oxygen and nitrogen oxide species on Ag/Al₂O₃. C₃H₆ was oxidized to acetate species in an O₂ + C₃H₆ atmosphere on Ag/Al₂O₃ above 573 K. The addition of NO to the C₃H₆ + O₂ feed gas suppressed the formation of acetate species but increased the proportion of acrylate species. Acrylate species were further confirmed to be formed preferentially from C₃H₆ oxidation without the O₂ atmosphere on Ag/Al₂O₃ or nitrate-adsorbed Ag/Al₂O₃. On the other hand, adsorption of NO led to the formation of nitrito species on Ag/Al₂O₃, but the nitrito was barely oxidized to nitrate species unless there was an O₂ atmosphere at 473–673 K. Thus, the oxidation of propene to acetate species, or the formation of nitrate from nitrito, is attributed to two competitive electrophilic reactions. The formation of nitrate from nitrito species decreased electrophilic oxygen species that oxidized propene to acetate. Nevertheless, the first dehydrogenation of propene to form acrylate species on nitrate-adsorbed Ag/Al₂O₃ is a nucleophilic reaction, as it is on Ag/Al₂O₃. Furthermore, there was no decrease in reaction activity for formation of acrylate species on nitrate-adsorbed Ag/Al₂O₃ compared to Ag/Al₂O₃. This led to the total reaction occurring easily through the propene nucleophilic oxidation branch because the presence of the adsorbed nitrogen oxides changed selectively the formation rates of the surface reductants. IR spectra data further demonstrate that acrylate and acetate species, as the surface reductants, reacted with nitrate to generate isocyanate intermediates in the SCR of NO. The effect of structures of different reductants on NO reduction is discussed.     

Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane to Propene over Barium Promoted Ni-Mo-O Catalyst

Oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to propene was investigated over Ba- promoted Ni_0.9MoO₄ catalysts (molar ratio of Ba/Mo: 1%, 3%, 6%, 9%, 12%, 15%). The selectivity for propene increases with the increasing number of basic sites on the catalyst, and molybdenum ions play an important role in propane activation. No significant deactivation of the 6% Ba- Ni_0.9MoO₄ and Ni_0.9MoO₄ at 773 K for 80 h and for 40 h, respectively, appeared, indicating that the 6% Ba- Ni_0.9MoO₄ has great advantage over the Ni_0.9MoO₄. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Oxidative dehydrogenation of propane on the VO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>/CeZrO/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> supported catalyst

The oxidative dehydrogenation of propane on a supported vanadium catalyst was studied (the support was a complex oxide system consisting of a ceria–zirconia solid solution deposited on γ-Al₂O₃ (CeZrO/γ-Al₂O₃)). A comparative analysis of the properties of the support and the catalyst prepared on its basis was performed. The support and catalyst were characterized by the BET method, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and Raman spectroscopy. The catalytic properties of the catalyst and support were studied in propane oxidation at 450 and 500°C with pulse feeding of the reagent. The effect of propane on the support was found to improve the oxidative properties of the latter. This behavior of the support is related to the preparation procedure, which leads to the formation on its surface of the crystalline phase of the ceria–zirconia solid solution and amorphous ZrO₂ and Al₂O₃ phases and/or their solid solution. Similar processes occur with the catalyst support during the oxidative dehydrogenation, giving rise to additional active centers (CeVO₄).     

Gallium-containing catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation of organic compounds

A method was developed for introducing gallium into Mg-Al hydrotalcites—precursors of oxide catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes. Samples of oxide catalysts were synthesized that contained gallium oxide and also oxides of magnesium, aluminum, chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, and niobium in various combinations. The catalytic properties of the produced catalysts were studied in the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane, propane, isobutane, and hexane. It was established that the addition of gallium to catalysts increases the ethylene and propylene yields in the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane and propane. New hydroxo salts with a layered structure of the hydrotalcite type were synthesized: ternary magnesium gallium aluminum hydroxonitrate of variable composition [Al_{1 ? n} Ga _n Mg _m (OH)_{3 + 2m ? 1}][NO₃ · nH₂O] and quaternary magnesium gallium chromium aluminum hydroxonitrate of the composition [AlGaCrMg_1.8(OH)_11.6][NO₃ · nH₂O]; these salts were found to be isostructural.