Catalytic propane dehydrogenation over In₂O₃–Ga₂O₃ mixed oxides

Journal Article · Wed Aug 26 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Applied Catalysis. A, General

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcata.2015.03.020· OSTI ID:1191718

Tan, Shuai ^[1]; Gil, Laura Briones ^[1]; Subramanian, Nachal ^[1]; Sholl, David S. ^[1]; Nair, Sankar ^[1]; Jones, Christopher W. ^[1]; Moore, Jason S. ^[2]; Liu, Yujun ^[2]; Dixit, Ravindra S. ^[2]; Pendergast, John G. ^[2]

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1. Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
2. The Dow Chemical Co., Freeport, TX (United States)

We have investigated the catalytic performance of novel In₂O₃–Ga₂O₃ mixed oxides synthesized by the alcoholic-coprecipitation method for propane dehydrogenation (PDH). Reactivity measurements reveal that the activities of In₂O₃–Ga₂O₃ catalysts are 1–3-fold (on an active metal basis) and 12–28-fold (on a surface area basis) higher than an In₂O₃–Al₂O₃ catalyst in terms of C₃H₈ conversion. The structure, composition, and surface properties of the In₂O₃–Ga₂O₃ catalysts are thoroughly characterized. NH₃-TPD shows that the binary oxide system generates more acid sites than the corresponding single-component catalysts. Raman spectroscopy suggests that catalysts that produce coke of a more graphitic nature suppress cracking reactions, leading to higher C₃H₆ selectivity. Lower reaction temperature also leads to higher C₃H₆ selectivity by slowing down the rate of side reactions. XRD, XPS, and XANES measurements, strongly suggest that metallic indium and In₂O₃ clusters are formed on the catalyst surface during the reaction. The agglomeration of In₂O₃ domains and formation of a metallic indium phase are found to be irreversible under O₂ or H₂ treatment conditions used here, and may be responsible for loss of activity with increasing time on stream.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
• Sponsoring Organization: INDUSTRY
• OSTI ID: 1191718
• Journal Information: Applied Catalysis. A, General, Vol. 498, Issue C; ISSN 0926-860X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: ENGLISH