Abstract
A mesoporous CoAl2O4 spinel (Co-Al) is synthesized by a one-step evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method. N2 physisorption and TEM are used to demonstrate the presence of mesopores within the Co-Al material. The spinel crystal structure of Co-Al, in which Co occupies tetrahedral (Td) sites, is confirmed by using XRD and UV/Vis spectroscopy. In nonoxidative propane dehydrogenation at 550 °C, a propane conversion of approximately 8 % is observed for Co-Al with a >80 % propylene selectivity, which corresponds to a turnover frequency of 5.1 h−1 based on an estimation of the number of active Co sites by using NH3 temperature-programmed desorption. A much higher propane conversion rate and a circa 80 % propylene selectivity is observed upon reaction at 600 °C. Continuous deactivation of the catalyst is observed for Co-Al at this elevated temperature. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy results suggest that Co remains as a Td Co2+ species under the reaction conditions. The Td Co2+ sites within the Co-Al material are thus proposed to act as Lewis acidic active sites; this acidity is verified using IR spectroscopy with pyridine as a probe molecule.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 3330-3337 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | ChemCatChem |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 17 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 8 2017 |
Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Catalysis
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry
- Inorganic Chemistry
Keywords
- cobalt
- dehydrogenation
- mesoporous materials
- self-assembly
- spinel phases