Highly Stable Propane Dehydrogenation on a Self‐Supporting Single‐Component Zn<sub>2</sub>SiO<sub>4</sub> Catalyst
Zhaohui Liu, Min Mao, Tie Shu, Qingpeng Cheng, Dong Liu, Jianjian Wang, Yun Zhao, Lingmei Liu, Yu Han
Abstract
Abstract Current industrial propane dehydrogenation (PDH) processes predominantly use either toxic Cr‐based or expensive Pt‐based catalysts, necessitating urgent exploration for alternatives. Herein, we present Zn 2 SiO 4 , an easily prepared, cost‐effective material, as a highly efficient and stable catalyst for PDH. Uniquely, Zn 2 SiO 4 nanocrystals do not require dispersion on support materials, commonly needed for catalytic active oxide clusters, but function as a self‐supporting catalyst instead. During the reaction‘s induction period, surface Zn species on the Zn 2 SiO 4 crystal reduce to coordinately unsaturated ZnO x single sites, serving as highly active catalytic centers. The Zn 2 SiO 4 catalyst demonstrates a stable performance over 200 hours of PDH operation at 550 °C. We further find that introducing a minuscule amount of CO 2 into the propane feed significantly extends the catalyst lifespan to over 2000 hours. This enhancement arises from the special role of CO 2 in facilitating the removal of strongly adsorbed H*, preventing the complete reduction of ZnO x . After prolonged reaction, the activity of Zn 2 SiO 4 can be fully restored by etching the surface layer to expose fresh Zn species, available throughout the crystals. The combination of CO 2 introduction and catalytic site regeneration strategies is expected to enable a year‐long PDH operation using a single batch of Zn 2 SiO 4 catalyst.