Fabrication of three dimensional SiC@C hybrid for efficient direct dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene

Synthesis of hybrid carbon materials with core-shell structure and robust catalytic performance is of great research interest, and remains a great challenge in catalytic dehydrogenation of hydrocarbons reaction. In this paper, few-layer sp(2) carbon decorated SiC nanocrystals with core-shell structure (SiC@C) were fabricated through a dual-confined magnesiothermic method by employing glucose and SiO2 as precursors. The SiC@C nanocrystals were further crosslinked to be a three dimensional (3D) mesoporous hybrid by the in situ generated carbon as binders and exhibiting a 410.30 m(2) g(-1) large surface area. The as-prepared SiC@C hybrid materials as metal-free catalysts were evaluated in the steam-free direct dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene. Benefiting from the abundant surface carbonyl groups on the graphite carbon layers, the optimized yield rate of styrene normalized by carbon mass was as high as 11.58 mmol g(-1) (carbon) h(-1), nearly 4 times that of nanodiamonds. Considering the low cost and excellent catalytic activity, the hybrid 3D SiC@C material may be a promising candidate for direct dehydrogenation of hydrocarbons. (C) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.

Automated summary

In this study, 3D SiC@C hybrid materials with core-shell structure were synthesized using a novel method and utilized as catalysts for direct dehydrogenation reactions, showing excellent activity and high yield rate. The research results suggest that this material has promising applications in catalytic dehydrogenation.