Phosphate modified carbon nanotubes for oxidative dehydrogenation of n-butane

Abstract

Catalytic performance of phosphate-modified carbon nanotube (PoCNT) catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of n-butane has been systematically investigated. The PoCNT catalysts are characterized by SEM, TEM, XPS and TG techniques. We set the products selectivity as a function of butane conversion over various phosphate loading, and it is found that the PoCNT catalyst with the 0.8% phosphate weight loading (0.8PoCNT) exhibits the best catalytic performance. When the phosphate loading is higher than 0.8wt%, the difference of catalytic activity among the PoCNT catalysts is neglectable. Consequently, the ODH of n-butane over the 0.8PoCNT catalyst is particularly discussed via changing the reaction conditions including reaction temperatures, residence time and n-butane/O2 ratios. The interacting mechanism of phosphate with the oxygen functional groups on the CNT surface is also proposed.