Carbon‐Doped BN Nanosheets for the Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethylbenzene

Carbon‐based catalysts have demonstrated great potential for the aerobic oxidative dehydrogenation reaction (ODH). However, its widespread application is retarded by the unavoidable deactivation owing to the appearance of coking or combustion under ODH conditions. The synthesis and characterization of porous structure of BCN nanosheets as well as their application as a novel catalyst for ODH is reported. Such BCN nanosheets consist of hybridized, randomly distributed domains of h‐BN and C phases, where C, B, and N were confirmed to covalent bond in the graphene‐like layers. Our studies reveal that BCN exhibits both high activity and selectivity in oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene, as well as excellent oxidation resistance. The discovery of such a simple chemical process to synthesize highly active BCN allows the possibility of carbocatalysis to be explored.     

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.     

Metal‐Free Dehydrogenation of N‐Heterocycles by Ternary h‐BCN Nanosheets with Visible Light

An efficient metal‐free catalytic system has been developed based on hexagonal boron carbon nitride (h‐BCN) nanosheets for the dehydrogenation of N‐heterocycles with visible light; hydrogen gas is released in the process, and thus no proton acceptor is needed. This acceptorless dehydrogenation of hydroquinolines, hydroisoquinolines, and indolines to the corresponding aromatic N‐heterocycles occurred in excellent yield under visible‐light irradiation at ambient temperature. With h‐BCN as the photocatalyst and water as the solvent, this environmentally benign protocol shows broad substitution tolerance and high efficiency.     

Catalytic Conversion of Methanol by Oxidative Dehydrogenation

This study investigates the effects of addition of oxygen on the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of methanol when a fluorotetrasilicic mica ion-exchanged with palladium (Pd2 -TSM) was used as the catalyst. The reaction proceeded at a very low temperature in the presence of oxygen, and HCOOCH3 was obtained at high selectivity. By calculating the equilibrium conversion, it has been shown that substantial ODH took place for HCOOCH3 production. Consequently, this reaction would make dehydrogenation the dominant reaction at equilibrium. Not all the H dissociated from CH3OH was converted to H2O by oxidation. It has been shown that the H2O was not produced from oxidative dehydrogenation by the direct reaction of CH3OH and O2 when an attempt was made to carry out oxidative dehydrogenation using an isotope oxygen trace method in the gas phase. Therefore, when CH3OH was converted to CO2 and dehydrogenated to HCOOCH3, the C—O bonds were not dissociated.     

Ytterbium-Containing Oxide Catalysts for Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Hydrocarbons

Oxide catalyst samples for the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of alkanes were prepared by heat treatment of precursors, namely, hydrotalcite-related magnesium aluminum double hydroxo salts containing ytterbium, as well as magnesium, aluminum, chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, and niobium in various combinations. Their catalytic activities were studied. Some catalysts were found to have high efficiency in ODH of ethane, propane, and isobutane, increasing the product yield and enhancing the reaction selectivity.     

FeVO4催化剂的原位电导研究

采用盐类固体研磨法制备了FeVO4催化剂,用原位电导方法测定了FeVO4催化剂在氧气 丙烷→氧气→丙烷连续变化气氛下的电导变化,确定其导电类型.以BET、XRD、H2-TPR等技术对催化剂进行表征,研究了其对丙烷氧化脱氢制丙烯反应的催化性能.     

A Team for the Development of Next-Generation Metal-Free Catalysis

This invited Team Profile was created by the Xie and Lin groups, hailing from the Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon-Based Functional Materials (Fujian Province University) and the State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment within the College of Chemistry at Fuzhou University (China). They recently published an article on borocarbonitride (BCN) nanosheets derived from the biomolecule guanine, which proved to be efficacious catalysts in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODHP). This work provides new insight into the role of carbon in BCN catalysts and provides principles for the design of stable boron-based catalysts. “Surface Chemistry and Catalytic Reactivity of Borocarbonitride in Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane”, G. Wang, S. Chen, Q. Duan, F. Wei, S. Lin, Z. Xie, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023 , 62, e202307470 .     

Ytterbium-Containing Magnesium–Aluminum Hydroxo Salts with a Hydrotalcite-Type Structure

A method is developed for inserting ytterbium into Mg–Al hydroxo salts that have a hydrotalcitetype layered structure, as well as for the chemical analyses of complex hydroxo salts containing ytterbium in various combinations with magnesium, aluminum, chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, and niobium. The formation conditions of these hydroxo salts have been studied by potentiometric titration, their samples have been prepared, and X-ray diffraction patterns recorded. The prepared hydroxo salt samples have been tested as precursors for oxide catalysts of oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of alkanes.     

Highly efficient VOx/SBA-15 mesoporous catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane

Highly dispersed vanadia species on SBA-15 mesoporous silica have been found to exhibit a highly efficient catalytic performance for the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of propane to light olefins (propene + ethylene).     

Oxidative Dehydrogenation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-Butenes to 1,3-Butadiene over Bismuth Molybdate and Ferrite Catalysts: A Review

1,3-Butadiene, an important raw material for a variety of chemical products, can be produced via the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of n-butenes over multicomponent oxide catalysts based on bismuth molybdates and ferrites. In this review, the basic concept, reaction mechanism, and catalysts typically used in an ODH reaction are discussed.     

Europium oxide containing catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes

A method is developed to incorporate europium into Mg–Al hydrotalcites, which are precursors for oxide catalysts of oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of alkanes; samples of oxide catalysts are prepared, where europium oxide and gallium, magnesium, aluminum, chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, and niobium oxides are contained in various combinations. The catalytic properties of these catalysts in the reactions of ethane, propane, and butane ODH are studied. The incorporation of europium into some of our studied multicomponent catalysts enhances the reaction selectivity and increases yields of desired products.     

CH bond activation in the presence or absence of oxygen or nitrous oxide

The reaction of C₂H₆with lattice oxygen, O^2- (in the absence of gaseous oxygen), or “adsorbedℍ oxygen (in the presence of gaseous oxygen) over NiMoO₄ catalysts has been performed and compared to C₃H₈ activation. The results obtained indicate that adsorbed oxygen exhibits a higher reactivity to C₂H₆, while lattice oxygen is more reactive relative to C₃H₈. Kinetic studies of these two reactions in presence of molecular oxygen have indeed shown that the ethane oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) is dependent on the oxygen partial pressure, whilst on the contrary propane ODH is not. In order to confirm the presence of “adsorbed” oxygen for ethane activation, ODH tests have been performed with N₂O. On increasing temperature, the O^- adsorbed species enhances the mild oxidation of ethane. The activation energy of ethane consumption E_C2H6, relative to propane (E_C3H8 = 133 kJ/mol) is 145 kJ/mol. A possible mechanism is proposed for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Praseodymium-containing catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation of organic compounds

A method is developed for incorporating praseodymium into magnesium–aluminum hydrotalcites, which are precursors for oxide catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of alkanes. Oxide catalyst samples that contain praseodymium and various combinations of magnesium, aluminum, chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, and niobium are prepared. The catalytic properties of the prepared catalysts in ethane, propane, and butane ODH reactions are studied. Into some of our studied multicomponent catalysts, the incorporation of praseodymium enhances the reaction selectivity and increases yields of desired products.     

Oxidative dehydrogenation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-butane on nano-carbon catalysts having graphitic structures

The catalytic activity of well-nanostructured carbon, for example glassy carbon spheres, SWCNT, graphene, and graphite, has been demonstrated in the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of butane to obtain olefins. The catalytic performance of the carbon samples was stable, with prolonged reaction time. The proportion of butenes in the product decreased as the reaction temperature increased, whereas selectivity for ethene and propene increased with increasing temperature. Pd-containing carbon nanofibers (CNF) had superior selectivity for butadiene formation than Pd free CNF catalyst. Carbon with graphitic structures was highly selective for propylene and butenes without severe combustion in ODH of butane.     

Chromium,vanadium, molybdenum,tungsten, magnesium,and aluminum hydrotalcite hydroxo salts and oxide catalysts on their base

A method is developed for the synthesis of chromium-containing catalysts for the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of alkanes, comprising the precipitation, from nitrate solutions, of mixtures of isomorphic hydrotalcite-type magnesium aluminum and magnesium chromium hydroxocarbonates and the incorporation of oxovanadate, oxomolybdate, and oxotungstate ions by means of anion exchange and subsequent heat treatment. A series of oxide catalyst samples with progressively more complex compositions were prepared: Mg-Al, V-Mg-Al, V-Mo-Mg-Al, Cr-V-Mg-Al, Cr-V-Mo-Mg-Al, and Cr-V-Mo-W-Mg-Al. The catalytic properties of these complex oxides in the ODH of ethane and propane are improved with progressively complex compositions. Chromium-containing catalysts have higher selectivities and provide higher conversions compared to state-of-the-art iron- and nickel-containing oxides.     

In situ UV-visible spectroscopic measurements of kinetic parameters and active sites for catalytic oxidation of alkanes on vanadium oxides

In situ diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy was used to measure the dynamics of catalyst reduction and oxidation during propane oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) on VOx/gamma-Al2O3. Transients in UV-visible intensity in the near-edge region were analyzed using a mechanistic model of ODH reactions. Rate constants per site for the kinetically relevant reduction step (C-H bond activation) measured using this analysis are slightly larger than those obtained from steady-state ODH rates normalized by surface V. The ratio of these values provides a measure of the fraction of the V surface sites that are active for ODH (0.6-0.7, for V surface densities of 2.3-34 V nm(-2)). This suggests that some of the V atoms are either inaccessible or inactive. Reoxidation rate constants, which cannot be obtained from steady-state analysis, are 10(3)-10(5) times larger than those for the C-H bond activation reduction step.     

Gas-phase oxidation of isomeric butenes and small alkanes by vanadium-oxide and -hydroxide cluster cations

Bare vanadium-oxide and -hydroxide cluster cations (V(m)O(n)H(o)+, m = 2-4, n = 1-10, o = 0, 1) were generated by electrospray ionization in order to examine their intrinsic reactivity toward isomeric butenes and small alkanes using mass spectrometric techniques. Two of the major reactions described here concern the activation of C-H bonds of the alkene/alkane substrates resulting in the transfer of two hydrogen atoms and/or attachment of the dehydrogenated hydrocarbon to the cluster cations; these processes are classified as oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) and dehydrogenation, respectively. For the dehydrogenation of butene, it evolved as a general trend that high-valent clusters prefer ODH resulting in the addition of two hydrogen atoms to the cluster concomitant with elimination of neutral butadiene, whereas low-valent clusters tend to add the diene with parallel loss of molecular hydrogen. Deuterium labeling experiments suggest the operation of a different reaction mechanism for V2O2(+) and V4O10(+) compared to the other cluster cations investigated, and these two cluster cations also are the only ones of the vanadium-oxide ions examined here that are able to dehydrogenate small alkanes. The kinetic isotope effects observed experimentally imply an electron transfer mechanism for the ion-molecule reactions of the alkanes with V4O10(+).     

Oxidative Dehydrogenation on Nanocarbon: Intrinsic Catalytic Activity and Structure–Function Relationships

Physical and chemical insights into the nature and quantity of the active sites and the intrinsic catalytic activity of nanocarbon materials in alkane oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) reactions are reported using a novel in situ chemical titration process. A study on the structure–function relationship reveals that the active sites are identical both in nature and function on various nanocarbon catalysts. Additionally, the quantity of the active sites could be used as a metric to normalize the reaction rates, and thus to evaluate the intrinsic activity of nanocarbon catalysts. The morphology of the nanocarbon catalysts at the microscopic scale exhibits a minor influence on their intrinsic ODH catalytic activity. The number of active sites calculated from the titration process indicates the number of catalytic centers that are active (that is, working) under the reaction conditions.