Role of CO2 in dehydrogenation of propane over CrOX/SiO2 catalyst with low Cr content

When ethene alone was contacted with silica supported cobalt catalyst (Co/SiO₂), ethene homologation took place with considerable activity. Moreover, the propene metathesis reaction was suppressed ca. 1/6 fold as much as in the case using MoO_X/SiO₂ catalyst. The possibility of selective homologation with a lower activity for metathesis was suggested for the cobalt-based catalyst system.