Tandem In 2 O 3 -Pt/Al 2 O 3 catalyst for coupling of propane dehydrogenation to selective H 2 combustion

Overcoming propylene oxidation Catalysts for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to propylene and water become less selective with increasing conversion because propylene itself is more readily oxidized than propane. Yan et al. created nanoscale tandem catalysts by growing an ∼2-nanometer shell of indium oxide, a selective hydrogen combustion catalyst, over a propane dehydrogenation catalyst, platinum nanoparticles supported on alumina spheres (see the Perspective by Pei and Gong). This overcoat exposed the platinum nanoparticles for propane dehydrogenation. Surface hydrogen atoms were oxidized at the indium oxide–platinum interface. This approach boosted yields of propylene to up to 30%. Science , this issue p. 1257 ; see also p. 1203