Promoted NiO Catalysts for the Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane

Metal oxide promoted NiO catalysts with a Ni/(Me + Ni) atomic ratio 0.92 have been investigated for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane. These materials have been characterized by several techniques (N-2-adsorption, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed CO and ethylene). The nature of surface sites is strongly influenced by the valence and the acid/base characteristics of the metal oxide promoters, which have a great impact on the selectivity to ethylene. Accordingly, a clear correlation between selectivity to ethylene and the valence of the promoter has been observed in the present work. Additionally, the acidity of the catalyst also enhances the selectivity to ethylene.