Electronic density enrichment of Pt catalysts by coke in the propane dehydrogenation

We investigated the nature of coke generated in propane dehydrogenation over supported Pt catalysts by FTIR, NMR, and XPS. NMR and FTIR spectra proved that the coke produced in the reaction contained poly-aromatic rings, which was consistent with the previous result that pregraphite-like coke structure was formed. The XPS results indicated that the coke deposits consisted of sp2 hybridized carbon. All of the characterizations indicated that the pregraphite-like coke containing the poly-aromatic ring structure was generated over the catalysts during the propane dehydrogenation. Furthermore, the XPS measurement demonstrated that the coke deposits interacted with Pt and the electron density of Pt was enriched through the interaction.