Atomically dispersed Pt in ordered PtSnZn intermetallic with Pt-Sn and Pt-Zn pairs for selective propane dehydrogenation

With the surge of shale gas, propane dehydrogenation becomes increasingly important to synthesize propylene. Herein, a new type of ordered PtSnZn intermetallic clusters (similar to 0.9 nm) supported on Al2O3 was synthesized by a stepwise approach including electrostatic adsorption and temperature-programmed reduction. The structure of the PtSnZn clusters results from a kinetically controlled process, and Pt atoms in the PtSnZn clusters are well isolated by Sn and Zn with Pt-Sn and Pt-Zn pairs. The PtSnZn/Al2O3 catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic performance for propane dehydrogenation, which achieves similar to 100% propylene selectivity and keeps a high propane conversion (>40%) during stability testing. The catalytic performance of PtSnZn/Al2O3 is also significantly higher than that of Pt/Al2O3, PtSn/Al2O3, and PtZn/Al2O3. Experiments and theoretical calculations indicate that the Sn 5p and Zn 4s orbitals are hybridized with Pt 5d by forming Pt-Sn and Pt-Zn pairs, which leads to the d band center of Pt deviating from Fermi level (similar to 2.81 eV). The shift of the Pt d band center significantly decreases the adsorption energy of propylene and prohibits further dehydrogenation, resulting in high propylene selectivity and stability.