Enhanced stability of Pt@S-1 with the aid of potassium ions for n-hexane and n-heptane aromatization

Abstract

As a typical high-efficient alkane aromatization catalyst, Pt/KL is prone to deactivation due to the sintering growth of Pt on the outer surface of KL and the channel blockage caused by carbon deposition, which is further exacerbated by the one-dimensional channel structure of KL. Therefore, a series of encapsulated catalysts combining the three-dimensional channel structure advantages of S-1 with the role of potassium are prepared and evaluated. It is shown that the encapsulated catalyst KPt@S-1-02 modified by moderate potassium exhibits extremely superior stability and no significant deactivation is observable after n-heptane aromatization for 180 h under harsh conditions. On the one hand, encapsulation structure enables a strong anti-agglomeration ability of Pt and the topological structure of S-1 endows the encapsulation catalysts less susceptible to channel blockage, which has been demonstrated by HAADF-STEM and N2-adsorption. On the other hand, characterizations involving NH3-TPD, CO-DRIFT and HAADF-STEM verify that the modification by an appropriate amount of K can inhibit acid sites of catalysts and improve Pt dispersion and electron density, thus enhance the stability of catalysts. However, excessive K can serve as weak acid sites, poison of active sites and inhibitor of H2 adsorption on Pt surface, leading to deactivation of the catalyst.