Dehydrogenation of propane in the presence of CO2 on GaOx/SiO2 catalyst: Influence of the texture characteristics of the support

GaOx/SiO2 catalytic systems with a gallium content of 3–50 wt% and deposited on SiO2 with different texture characteristics were synthesized by incipient wetness impregnation. The effect of the support nature on the catalyst activity in the reaction of propane dehydrogenation in the presence of CO2 was studied. The physicochemical properties of the supports and catalysts were characterized using low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, XRD, TPR-H2, UV–Vis and diffuse reflectance FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, X-ray microanalysis, TEM, TG-DTA. It was found that a high dispersion of Ga2O3 particles on the support surface and a low acidity of the catalyst are required to achieve a high catalytic activity of Ga-containing catalytic systems. The best results were found for the catalyst supported on SiO2 with a surface area of 747 m2/g and a gallium content of 7 wt%, the propane conversion reached 33% with a propylene selectivity of 84%, and the stable operation time of the catalyst was more than 20 h.