Regulating Ni–O–V bond in nickel doped vanadium catalysts for propane dehydrogenation

Abstract

Supported vanadium catalysts are commonly investigated in industrial propane dehydrogenation (PDH) but still remain a great challenge to achieve high propylene selectivity and productivity. Here, Ni species were adopted to regulate the micro-structure of V2O5 supported by γ-Al2O3 via incipient wetness impregnation method. The Ni-doped vanadium catalyst exhibits an optimal propylene yield of 31.88% with a superior propylene selectivity of 85.91% compared to undoped catalyst with a propylene yield of 20.49% (propylene selectivity of 80.77%). Experimental characterizations (such as XPS, XAFS and Raman studies) and DFT calculations were combined to support that the Ni–O–V bonds are active sites for PDH and could promote the charge redistribution from Ni to V based in the Ni–O–V bonds, which greatly strengthens the adsorption of C3H8 over V sites. This endows the Ni-doped vanadium catalyst high propane conversion and superior propylene selectivity.