Catalytic reaction coupling of propane dehydrogenation with nitrobenzene hydrogenation over Pt/Al2O3

Reaction coupling between propane dehydrogenation and nitrobenzene hydrogenation over a commercial Pt/Al2O3 catalyst is presented. The effects of coupling, use of the catalyst, and reaction temperature were studied using a fixed-bed reactor. The coupling of the two reactions drastically increased propane and nitrobenzene conversions even without the use of the catalyst. The use of Pt/Al2O3 further increased the conversions and the selectivity towards propylene and nitrobenzene hydrogenation products. Higher reaction temperatures favored the selectivity towards pyrolysis products. Reaction pathways are sketched to explain our experimental findings.