Suppressing COx in oxidative dehydrogenation of propane with dual-atom catalysts
Oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODHP) is a promising route for propylene production, but achieving high selectivity towards propylene while minimizing CO<sub>x</sub> byproducts remains a significant challenge for conventional metal oxide catalysts. Here we propose a solution to this challenge by employing atomically dispersed dual-atom catalysts (M<sub>1</sub>M'<sub>1</sub>-TiO<sub>2</sub> DACs). Ni<sub>1</sub>Fe<sub>1</sub>-TiO<sub>2</sub> DACs exhibit an ultralow CO<sub>x</sub> selectivity of 5.2% at a high propane conversion of 46.1% and 520 °C, with stable performance for over 1000 hours. Mechanistic investigations reveal that these catalysts operate via a cooperative Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism, distinct from the Mars-van Krevelen mechanism typical of metal oxides. This cooperative pathway facilitates efficient conversion of propane and oxygen into propylene at the dual-atom interface. The superior selectivity arises from facile olefin desorption from the dual-atom sites and suppressed formation of electrophilic oxygen species, which are preferentially adsorbed on Fe<sub>1</sub> sites rather than oxygen vacancies. This work highlights the potential of dual-atom catalysts for highly selective ODHP and provides insights into their unique catalytic mechanism.
Authors
- Jingnan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7015-9162)
- Sanjaya D. Senanayake (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3991-4232)
- Yongbin Yao
- Wensheng Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6297-4589)
- Fei Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6735-9446)
- Bingbao Mei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4195-7151)
- Fangli Yuan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7389-2594)
- Guiyuan Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1464-3368)
- Lifeng Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2788-6900)
- Xi Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3910-9575)
- Wenlin Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3761-3033)
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (US)
- China University of Petroleum, Beijing (CN)
- Beijing Jiaotong University (CN)
- Shantou University (CN)
- Ji Hua Laboratory (CN)
- Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (CN)
- Institute of Process Engineering (CN)
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (CN)
- Yangzhou University (CN)
- Fuzhou University (CN)
- Taiyuan University of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-05-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59376-z
- Citations
- 10
- Primary Topic
- Catalysis and Oxidation Reactions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.89
Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Salt Science Research Foundation
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory
- Office of Science
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
- Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility
- Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Basic Energy Sciences
- Brookhaven National Laboratory