Non-oxidative Propane Dehydrogenation over Vanadium Doped Graphitic Carbon Nitride Catalysts

Propane dehydrogenation to propylene, one of the most significant compounds in the chemical industry, has attracted tremendous attention worldwide. A series of V doped graphitic carbon nitride composites (V-g-C3N4) were synthesized via a combination of thermal polymerization of urea and thermal decomposition of NH4VO3. After doping VOx species, the V doped g-C3N4 catalysts achieved an optimal propylene yield of 16.16% with a propylene selectivity of 68.6% at 600 degrees C, compared with undoped g-C3N4 (a propylene yield of 5.42% with a propylene selectivity of 53.9%) at the same condition. Subsequently, various characterization techniques, including XRD, TEM, FTIR, Raman, XPS, N-2 adsorption-desorption, etc., were unitized to investigate the chemical properties and crystalline structures of the prepared catalysts. The essence of catalytic enhancement, such as crystallinity, the main active VOx species, and the newly emerging V-N bonds in V-g-C3N4 catalysts, has been discussed, providing a tentative reaction pathway for CH3(*CH)CH3 and CH3CHCH2* species on V active sites. In general, this work offers a research basis for the bran-new materials design for propane dehydrogenation. [GRAPHICS] .