Solid catalysts for the dehydrogenation of long-chain alkanes: lessons from the dehydrogenation of light alkanes and homogeneous molecular catalysis

Long-chain alkanes are abundant feedstocks supplied by natural resources and chemical industry. Specially, normal long-chain alkanes are primary products from Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) process, which is an important route for the utilization of coal in China. Facing a shift of energy nexus towards sustainable society, the conversion of long-chain alkanes derived from coal into value-added products (such as alkenes and oxygenates) is of great importance for securing China's energy supply and the role transition of the commercial FTS plants from fuel makers to chemical suppliers. Among the potential transformation routes, the direct dehydrogenation of long-chain alkanes into alkenes is an attractive and practical route, due to the broad applications of long-chain alkenes (especially the linear alpha-olefins). In this review, we will summary the key insights obtained from the literature on the dehydrogenation of light alkanes based on supported metal catalysts and the dehydrogenation of alkanes with homogeneous molecular catalysts and then discuss how to translate these lessons into the development of efficient catalysts and processes for the dehydrogenation of long-chain alkanes into long-chain alkenes.