Dehydrogenation of propane over PtSnAl/SBA-15 catalysts: Al addition effect and coke formation analysis

Abstract

A series of PtSnAl/SBA-15 catalysts were prepared by incipient-wetness impregnation and their catalytic performance was tested for propane dehydrogenation. The catalysts were characterized by XRF, XRD, BET, TEM, UV-vis DRS, NH₃-TPD, O₂-TPO, ²⁷Al MAS-NMR, XPS and in situ Raman analyses. The addition of aluminum enhances the interaction of the Sn support and consequently stabilizes the oxidation state of Sn during the propane dehydrogenation reaction. The acid centers formed by aluminum addition show close contact with metal centers (Pt), which favors the synergistic effect of the bifunctional active centers. High catalytic performance over PtSnAl_0.2/SBA-15 was obtained, and one-pass propane conversion and propene selectivity are 55.9% and 98.5%, respectively. Moreover, the in situ Raman results indicated the faster coke formation rate of PtSnAl_0.4/SBA-15 than that of PtSnAl_0.2/SBA-15, which may be accelerated by strong acid sites by excess aluminum addition.