Deactivation origins and stability-enhancing strategies of Sn/SiO2 catalysts for ethane dehydrogenation

• Published in: Molecular catalysis 2023-01, Vol.535, p.112826, Article 112826
• Main Authors: Wang, Guowei, Zhu, Chunlei, Zhang, Shan, Zhou, Lanhui, Zhang, Huanling, Zhu, Xiaolin, Shan, Honghong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Complexing agent; Dehydrogenation; Ethane; MCM-41; Stability
• ISSN: 2468-8231; 2468-8231
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mcat.2022.112826

•5Sn/SiO2 catalyst is highly active and selective for ethane dehydrogenation.•Inevitable Sn loss and coke deposition are deactivation origins of the catalyst.•Complexing agents improve the stability due to reduced Sn loss and coke deposition.•In-situ synthesis method can anchor Sn species on MCM-41 and enhance the stability. A low-cost and environment-friendly Sn/SiO2 catalyst, highly active and selective for ethane dehydrogenation, is an effective alternative for high-cost Pt and toxic CrOx-based catalysts. While the catalyst deactivates fast due to the loss and aggregation of Sn species. In order to solve the problem, complexation impregnation method and in-situ synthesis approach have been tried to enhance the stability of Sn-based catalyst. As for the former one, a relatively stable performance of 5Sn/SiO2 catalyst can be achieved due to depressed Sn loss and coke deposition, while there is still room for improvement. When the latter strategy is applied, 5Sn-MCM-41 catalyst demonstrates the optimal dehydrogenation performance, with 44.0% of ethane conversion and 98.8% of ethylene selectivity, and no obvious decreasing trend is observed in the progress of 18 h reaction due to the well dispersion and anchoring of Sn species on the framework of MCM-41. [Display omitted]