Al₂O₃ Supported Pt-based Catalysts For Propane Dehydrogenation

In recent years, the propane dehydrogenation (PDH) to propylene has been researched hotly due to its economical and environmentally friendly route, compared to the traditionally thermal or catalytic cracking of crude oil-derived naphtha. In the PDH, an alumina-supported Pt catalyst has a wide application in industrial fields. However, in the process of low carbon molecules dehydrogenation reaction, especially in the harsh reaction conditions, the fast deactivation of the catalyst caused by coke deposition and the sintering of Pt particles is still a major problem. In order to improve the catalytic stability of Pt catalyst, a research focus is to prepare new catalysts with low active component load, high stability and high activity.Herein, we have starting from the innovation preparation of Al2O3 support, successfully preparing the Al2O3 nanosheet with a large scale. According to the structure and surface properties of the Al2O3 nanosheet, we futher regulate and control the composition of active components and additives. Consequently, the Al2O3 nanosheet can disperse and stabilize the raft-like PtSn clusters as a result of strong interaction between metal and support. Simultaneously, such a PtSn/y-Al2O3 catalyst display excellent specific of propylene formation with >99% selectivity, and superior anti-sinering and anti-coking ability. Its exceptional ability to maintain excellent performance stems from interaction characteristics of support structure and surface/interface properties for active component. On the other hand, we use the second assistant to modify support, active component and the first assistant, successfully preparing the PtSn/Al2O3-X catalyst with a stronger anti-coking ability and better cycle stability. This study should provide guidelines for the future design of new catalysts with high activity and stability for a variety of catalytic applications.