Silica-supported PtSn alloy doped with Ga, In or, Tl: Characterization and catalytic behaviour in n-hexane dehydrogenation

Silica-supported trimetallic catalysts containing Pt, Sn and a group 13 metal (PtSnM, M=Ga, In, Tl) were prepared by consecutive impregnation steps from cis-[PtCl₂(PPh₃)₂] and chloride precursors. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected-area electron diffraction (ED) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) showed large platelet-like particles of PtSn_1−xM_x phases. PtSnGa catalyst with a Pt/(Sn+Ga) molar ratio of 1.72 showed a bimodal particle distribution and a Pt phase was identified. Differences in surface structures were also revealed by the performance of catalysts in the dehydrogenation of n-hexane. For PtSnIn and PtSnTl (Pt/(Sn+M) molar ratio of about 1) the dehydrogenation was favoured. In contrast, PtSnGa catalyst yielded hydrogenolysis products. Photoelectron spectra showed the Pt 4f_7/2 level at a binding energy of 70.0–71.8 eV in all cases. Moreover, the FT-IR spectra of chemisorbed CO on the PtSnGa showed a slight shift in the ν(CO) toward higher values with respect to the monometallic catalyst, pointing to an electronic effect in accordance with photoelectron spectroscopy.