Sn-decorated CeO2 with different morphologies for direct dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene

Abstract

Three Sn-decorated ceria catalysts with various morphologies (rods, particles, and cubes) were prepared and applied to the direct dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene. Multi-technology characterizations, including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H2-temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR), and Raman spectroscopy, prove that the oxygen vacancies are the active sites for ethylbenzene dehydrogenation, which can be regulated by engineering CeO2 morphology and enhanced via introducing metal Sn. Given the results of activity test, the catalytic activities for ethylbenzene dehydrogenation over different samples are closely dependent on the amount of oxygen vacancies. The reduced Sn-decorated CeO2 catalyst with nanoparticles morphology exhibits better dehydrogenation performance than the other two studied catalysts at 600 °C. This work provides an effective approach to regulate the active oxygen vacancies and further enhance the dehydrogenation activities through engineering the surface morphology of the catalyst and introducing suitable additives.