Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes on silicon carbide as a metal-free catalyst

Abstract

A hierarchical metal-free catalyst consisting of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes decorated onto a silicon carbide (N-CNTs/SiC) macroscopic host structure was prepared. The influence of N-CNTs incorporation on the physical properties of the support was evaluated using different characterization techniques. The catalyst was tested as a metal-free catalyst in the selective oxidation of H2S and steam-free dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene. The N-CNTs/SiC catalyst exhibited extremely good desulfurization performance compared to a Fe2O3/SiC catalyst under less conducive reaction conditions such as low temperature, high space velocity, and a low O2-to-H2S molar ratio. For the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene, a higher dehydrogenation activity was obtained with the N-CNTs/SiC catalyst compared to a commercial K-Fe/Al2O3 catalyst. The N-CNTs/SiC catalyst also displayed good stability as a function of time on stream for both reactions, which was attributed to the strong anchoring of the nitrogen dopant in the carbon matrix. The extrudate shape of the SiC support allowed the direct macroscopic shaping of the catalyst for use in a conventional fixed-bed reactor without the problems of catalyst handling, transportation, and pressure drop across the catalyst bed that are encountered with nanoscopic carbon-based catalysts.