Enriching GaHx species via co-feeding hydrogen to boost efficient propane dehydrogenation over Ga2O3/Al2O3 catalysts

With the demand for propene and the development of shale gas, propane dehydrogenation is an effective strategy to tackle the tight propene supply. Ga-based catalysts have immense potential for propane dehydrogenation among many environmentally friendly non-precious metal catalysts. Herein, we found that the hydrogen co-feeding not only significantly improved the activity but also enhanced the stability of Ga/Al-R catalyst for propane dehydrogenation. The propane conversion rates at zero reaction time at a hydrogen concentration of 10% was 81 mmol C3H8 g cat −1 h −1 , almost twice as high as in the absence of hydrogen (43.8 mmol C3H8 g cat −1 h −1 ). In addition, co-feeding with hydrogen significantly enhanced catalyst stability and resistance to carbon deposition. In-situ IR spectroscopy confirmed that the addition of hydrogen could effectively contribute to the production and enrichment of GaHx species. The H 2 -D 2 exchange and elimination of GaHx species by CO 2 experiments demonstrated that GaHx species was the more active site for PDH over Ga/Al-R catalyst.