Efficient propane dehydrogenation catalyzed by Ru nanoparticles anchored on a porous nitrogen-doped carbon matrix

Propane dehydrogenation (PDH) is a vital industrial process for producing propene , utilizing primarily Cr-based or Pt-based catalysts. These catalysts often suffer from challenges such as the toxicity of Cr, the high costs of noble metals like Pt, and deactivation issues due to sintering or coke formation at elevated temperatures. We introduce an exceptional Ru-based catalyst, Ru nanoparticles anchored on a nitrogen-doped carbon matrix (Ru@NC), which achieves a propane conversion rate of 32.2% and a propene selectivity of 93.1% at 550 °C, with minimal coke deposition and a low deactivation rate of 0.0065 h −1 . Characterizations using techniques like TEM and XPS , along with carefully-designed controlled experiments, reveal that the notable performance of Ru@NC stems from the modified electronic state of Ru by nitrogen dopant and the microporous nature of the matrix, positioning it as a top contender among state-of-the-art PDH catalysts. We report a facile synthesis of Ru nanoparticles anchored on a porous nitrogen-doped carbon matrix (Ru@NC), demonstrating high catalytic performance in propane dehydrogenation to propene due to the modified electronic state of the Ru active sites and the porous nature of the matrix.