Electroassisted Propane Dehydrogenation at Low Temperatures: Far beyond the Equilibrium Limitation
Jianshuo Zhang, Ruoyun Ma, Hyungwon Ham, Ken‐ichi Shimizu, Shinya Furukawa
Abstract
Propylene production by propane dehydrogenation (PDH) generally requires high temperatures due to thermodynamic equilibrium limitations. This study developed a novel type of catalytic system for low-temperature PDH by combining a surface protonics methodology with intermetallic active sites. By application of an electric current, the intermetallic Pt–In/TiO2 catalyst gave a propylene yield of 10.2% with high selectivity, even at 250 °C, where the thermodynamic equilibrium yield was only 0.15%. Electroassisted proton collisions with propane allowed an unusual reaction pathway for low-temperature PDH. Alloying of Pt with In drastically enhanced the activity and selectivity due to the increased electron density of Pt.