Electric Field-assisted Catalytic Propane Dehydrogenation at Low Temperature over Pt/Ga–CeO₂

Abstract

An electric field-assisted catalytic reaction system can provide endothermic propane dehydrogenation (PDH) free from thermodynamic equilibrium constraints even at low temperatures. This work focuses on the development of a highly efficient catalyst for the electric field-assisted PDH reaction by using various metal ion-doped CeO₂ materials with fluorite structure as catalyst supports. The Pt/Ce_0.9Ga_0.1O₂ catalyst exhibited the highest C₃H₈ conversion (2.3 %) and C₃H₆ selectivity levels (ca. 100 %) at 523 K under an electric field, and its catalytic performance was maintained for at least 5 h with suppressed carbon deposition. Since dehydrogenation catalysis on the supported metals enhances the activity of PDH under an electric field, the Pt-supported catalyst, which is most effective for dehydrogenation, exhibited the highest activity. The surface proton conductivity of Pt/Ce_0.9Ga_0.1O₂ was higher than that of Pt/CeO₂, because the substitution of Ce⁴⁺ in CeO₂ with Ga³⁺ increased the surface proton density via charge compensation. Pt/Ce_0.9Ga_0.1O₂ enhanced the level of catalytic activity for the electric field-assisted PDH reaction since surface protonics plays an important role in C₃H₈ activation. Thus, surface engineering of oxide support by heterocation doping can be an effective approach for developing highly active catalysts for low-temperature electric field-assisted PDH reactions.