CeO(2)-Promoted PtSn/SiO(2) as a High-Performance Catalyst for the Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane with Carbon Dioxide

The oxidative dehydrogenation of propane with CO(2) (CO(2)-ODP) has been extensively investigated as a promising green technology for the efficient production of propylene, but the lack of a high-performance catalyst is still one of the main challenges for its industrial application. In this work, an efficient catalyst for CO(2)-ODP was developed by adding CeO(2) to PtSn/SiO(2) as a promoter via the simple impregnation method. Reaction results indicate that the addition of CeO(2) significantly improved the catalytic activity and propylene selectivity of the PtSn/SiO(2) catalyst, and the highest space-time yield of 1.75 g(C(3)H(6))·g(catalyst)(−1)·h(−1) was achieved over PtSn/SiO(2) with a Ce loading of 6 wt%. The correlation of the reaction results with the characterization data reveals that the introduction of CeO(2) into PtSn/SiO(2) not only improved the Pt dispersion but also regulated the interaction between Pt and Sn species. Thus, the essential reason for the promotional effect of CeO(2) on CO(2)-ODP performance was rationally ascribed to the enhanced adsorption of propane and CO(2) originating from the rich oxygen defects of CeO(2). These important understandings are applicable in further screening of promoters for the development of a high-performance Pt-based catalyst for CO(2)-ODP.