Good interaction between well dispersed Pt and LaCoO3 nanorods achieved rapid Co3+/Co2+ redox cycle for total propane oxidation

Abstract

In the present work, 0.29 wt% Pt/LaCoO3 nanorods with high Pt dispersion were prepared by using high surface area of electrospun LaCoO3 nanorods (31 m2/g) as the support, and the physicochemical properties are correlated with the propane oxidation activities. It is demonstrated that sequential thermal annealing in He, O2, and H2 can achieve well Pt dispersion and good interaction between metallic Pt and LaCoO3 nanorods. The latter leads to a good reducibility and high oxygen mobility, resulting in a rapid redox cycle of Co3+/Co2+. It mainly contributes to the good propane oxidation activity following the Mars-van Krevelen mechanism for Pt/LaCoO3-He + O2 + H2. Meanwhile, it exhibits good thermal stability and water resistant. Additionally, a unique “circulation” in situ FTIR technology was developed to detect the intermediate species for the weak interaction of propane with Pt/LaCoO3.