Lattice-Confined single cobalt atom in ZrO2 for propane non-oxidative dehydrogenation
Bohan Feng, Yicong Bao, Yuechang Wei, Dong Li, Jing Xiong, Zhen Zhao, Yunpeng Liu, Weiyu Song, Chunming Xu, Jian Liu
Abstract
The single atom sites have been identified as the optimal structure for structure-insensitive alkane dehydrogenation reaction. However, single atoms with high surface energy suffer from sintering deactivation due to high-temperature conditions. Herein, we report the single cobalt (Co) atoms confined by the ZrO 2 lattice for the propane non-oxidative dehydrogenation (PDH) reaction. Compared with surface Co species, the lattice-confined effect of ZrO 2 basement prevents the structural transformation of single Co atoms and enriches the active site of Co-O-Zr. The Co single-atom catalyst shows remarkable activity (1.58 mmol g -1 h −1 ) and achieves significantly more substantial regeneration stability than the catalysts with surface CoO x species. The research on lattice-confined Co-ZrO 2 catalysts provides a novel cognition for the lattice-confined effect and gives opportunities for the application of thermodynamically stable single-atom catalysts in the future.