Sn1Pt single-atom alloy evolved stable PtSn/nano-Al2O3 catalyst for propane dehydrogenation

The PtSn/Al2O3 is a prototypical industrial catalyst for propane dehydrogenation (PDH). However, the local structures of the active sites are still inconclusive under the operation conditions. Herein, the evolutions of the Pt-Sn active centers supported on nano-Al2O3 are definitely discerned at the atomic level during PDH reaction. By combining complementary in situ characterizations and theoretical calculations, we demonstrate that a highly productive Sn1Pt single-atom alloy (47.6 molC3H6 gPt–1 h–1) forms after the reduction, and thereby self-assembles to the Pt3Sn intermetallic compound during the reaction, which exhibits a rather stable performance (kd-10~40h: 0.0026 h–1). Intriguingly, the results of in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier-transform spectroscopy further corroborate that the adjacent Pt atoms with terrace sites aggravating the coke deposition can be circumvented through this single-atom alloy mediated reconstruction. Our findings depict an unprecedented evolution process of the active sites of the PtSn/Al2O3, and afford an effectual nanostructure engineering pathway for stable PDH catalysts.