Nano-Hierarchical SSZ-13-Supported Low-Polymerized VOX as Highly Efficient Catalysts for Propane Dehydrogenation

Supported vanadium oxide (VOX) catalysts are promising candidates for propane dehydrogenation (PDH) due to their high catalytic activity, low cost, and environmentally benign characteristics. Herein, vanadium-based catalysts supported on hierarchical SSZ-13 zeolites with V loadings ranging from 1 to 12 wt % were prepared and evaluated in PDH reaction. The characterization results show that various kinds of VOX species are formed on the SSZ-13 zeolites, and the polymerization degree of VOX species continually increases with rising V loading. The 5V/SSZ catalyst possessing abundant low-polymerized VOX species with a large ratio of active V3+ and V4+ exhibits superior catalytic activity with 19.6% propane conversion and 91.3% propylene selectivity as well as good regeneration stability. The nano-hierarchical structure of SSZ-13 zeolite is also found to play an important role in enhancing PDH activity due to the suppressed coke deposition, improved mass transfer, and enhanced accessibility of propane molecules to the active sites.