Pt-Sn Alloy Nanoparticles Supported on Al2O3 for the Dehydrogenation of Octadecahydro-dibenzyltoluene

The pair dibenzyltoluene/octadecahydro-dibenzyltoluene (H0-DBT/H18-DBT) as a promising liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) candidate could yield large-scale implementation in hydrogen storage and transport. Therefore, a LOHC-dehydrogenation catalyst with exceptional activity, product selectivity, and resistance against deactivation is of great importance. Herein, we synthesized a series of Pt-Sn/Al2O3 alloy catalysts with different crystal structures of different Pt-Sn alloys and investigated the Pt-Sn allying process during the thermal decomposition of an organic bimetal salt [Sn(bpy)3]PtCl6(bpy = 2–2′ bipyridine). Their activity and selectivity for the H18-DBT dehydrogenation reaction have been studied by tank and fixed-bed reactors. They obtain a 6–25 times TOF than the Pt-Sn catalyst prepared by the incipient wetness coimpregnation method. EXAS, HRTEM, CO-DRIFT, and other characterizations were used to characterize their structure, indicating that the bimetallic state Pt-Sn is the most active structure for the dehydrogenation of octadecahydro-dibenzyltoluene, and the Pt3Sn alloy is the most selective one. The impact of the alloying of Sn and Pt on the dehydrogenation performance of the catalyst was verified by using DFT calculations.