IrGa Bimetallic Catalyst with Atomical Metal Dispersion for Propane Dehydrogenation with High Stability

• Published in: ChemCatChem 2023-02, Vol.15 (4), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Zeng, Lei, Li, Wei, Wei, Xueer, Cheng, Jiawei, Zhou, Wei, Zheng, Yanping, Cai, Fan, Liu, Yuefeng, Cheng, Kang, Zhang, Qinghong, Wang, Ye
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alkanes; Alkenes; Aluminum oxide; Bimetals; Catalysts; Coking; Conversion; C−H activation; Deactivation; Dehydrogenation; Dispersion; Iridium; noble metal catalysis; Noble metals; olefin production; Propane; Propylene; Selectivity
• ISSN: 1867-3880; 1867-3899
• DOI: 10.1002/cctc.202201405

Industrial catalysts for alkane dehydrogenation to olefins suffer from fast deactivation due to the coking and sintering of active metal under harsh reaction conditions. Herein, iridium, a noble metal rarely applied in C−H activation, has been employed to construct an ultra‐stable IrGa/Al2O3 catalyst with atomical metal dispersion for non‐oxidative propane dehydrogenation (PDH). A synergetic effect between metallic Ir and GaOx is discovered which contributes to both high PDH activity and propylene selectivity. Notably, the Ir0.5Ga2/Al2O3 with 0.5 wt % of Ir and 2.0 wt % of Ga exhibited a propylene selectivity of 98 % at a 19 % propane conversion at 550 °C and 86 % at a 35 % propane conversion at 600 °C. A stable PDH performance of 100 h was observed after a deactivation process at the initial reaction stage. The catalytic performance of the IrGa/Al2O3 is comparable to that of Pt‐based catalysts, endowing the Ir‐based catalyst with great potential in dehydrogenation reactions. IrGa/Al2O3 catalyst with atomical metal dispersion exhibits excellent non‐oxidative propane dehydrogenation performance with a propylene selectivity of 98 % at an 18 % propane conversion for 100 hours, comparable to that of classical Pt‐based catalysts. An enhanced synergetic effect between metallic Ir and partially reduced GaOx oxide was found.