Nature of the Active Sites of VOx/Al2O3 Catalysts for Propane Dehydrogenation

Supported VOx catalysts are promising for use in propane dehydrogenation (PDH) because of the relatively superior activity and stable performance upon regeneration. However, the nature of the active sites and reaction mechanism during PDH over VOx-based catalysts remains elusive. We examined active species by attaining various fractions of V5+, V4+, and V3+ ions by adjusting the surface vanadium density on an alumina support. The results reveal a close relationship between TOF and the fraction of V3+ ion, indicating that V3+ was more active for PDH. In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy showed the same strong adsorbed species during both propane dehydrogenation and propylene hydrogenation. The results indicated that such an intermediate may correspond to V species containing a C═C bond, i.e., V–C3H5, and a reaction mechanism was proposed accordingly.