Simple dehydrogenation (SDH) of propane provides high propylene selectivity, however the industrial catalysts are deactivated by coke generated during the reaction. Therefore, there is a need to develop a novel catalyst with stable performance for SDH. We have found that transition metal-based catalysts loaded with sulfate ion (SO42−) showed a high performance for SDH of propane. The loaded SO42− ion was reduced to lattice sulfide (S2−) ion during the reaction, indicating the metal sulfide as the effective catalyst for SDH of propane. Furthermore, high-stable performance was achieved by co-feeding hydrogen sulfide (H2S), since lattice S2− ion was continuously regenerated on the sulfide catalyst surface. The continuous S2− regeneration provided a novel dehydrogenation process with stable production of propylene.
