Ternary platinum–cobalt–indium nanoalloy on ceria as a highly efficient catalyst for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane using CO2

The oxidative dehydrogenation of propane using CO2 (CO2-ODP) is a promising technique for high-yield propylene production and CO2 utilization. Unfortunately the efficiency of existing catalysts is limited, and therefore, developing a highly efficient catalyst for CO2-ODP is of great importance for the chemical industry. Here we report a Pt–Co–In ternary nanoalloy on CeO2 that has a (Pt1−xCox)2In3 pseudo-binary alloy structure and exhibits very high catalytic activity, C3H6 selectivity, stability and CO2 utilization efficiency at 550 °C. Alloying platinum with indium and cobalt significantly improves the C3H6 selectivity and CO2 reduction ability, respectively. The cobalt species provide a high density of states near the Fermi level, which lowers the energy barrier of CO2 reduction. The stability of the catalyst is greatly enhanced by combining the strong CO2 activation ability of the alloy with the oxygen releasing ability of the CeO2 support, which facilitates Mars–van Krevelen-type coke combustion. The CO2-mediated oxidative dehydrogenation of propane is an attractive reaction for propylene production, although the selection of competent catalysts available for this process is scant. Now, the authors report a ceria-supported Pt–Co–In ternary alloy that achieves this transformation with high efficiency.