Oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane on nickel and chromium oxide systems dispersed on different supports

Nickel oxide and chromia supported on ThO2, CeO2, MgO and SiO2 have been tested in oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane. Both NiO- and Cr2O3-based systems have been found active in this reaction already around 300 degrees C, the catalytic performance being dependent on the nature of the support. Chromia-based catalysts are more active and selective as compared with the NiO-based ones. The highest activity and selectivity have been observed for the CrOx/CeO2 system. The basicity of the catalysts determined by a probe reaction of the isopropanol dehydrogenation follows the same sequence as the total activity in the oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane, which suggests an activation of the C-H bond on basic centres of the catalysts.