Regulation of Active ZnO Species on Si‐based Supports with Diverse Textural Properties for Efficient Propane Dehydrogenation

Abstract

AbstractPropylene is deemed as a kind of key raw materials with significant value in industrial production. Highly dispersed Zn species are served as active sites in catalyzing propane dehydrogenation reaction (PDH). More importantly, the morphology and textural properties of Si‐based support exert the great influence on the formation of active Zn species. Herein, active Zn species were dispersed on macroporous commercial SiO2, mesoporous siliceous materials (SBA‐15, MCF, DMSN, KIT‐6), and microporous silicalite‐1 (S‐1), respectively. Characterization result indicated that the dispersed active ZnO species were prone to be formed on S‐1, which could be attributed to the confinement effect of micropores in S‐1 and the abundant Si‐OH groups interacted with Zn2+ species. As a result, the optimal ZnOA/S‐1 catalyst exhibited superior catalytic activity (propane conversion of 40.4 %, propylene selectivity of 96.0 %, 550 °C, WHSV=0.47 h−1) during PDH process. Furthermore, the relatively considerable performance of ZnOA/S‐1 catalysts could help to offer a guidance on the design of efficient and low‐cost catalysts for PDH reaction.