Facilitating the reduction of V-O bonds on VOx/ZrO2 catalysts for non-oxidative propane dehydrogenation

Supported vanadium oxide is a promising catalyst in propane dehydrogenation due to its competitive performance and low cost. Nevertheless, it remains a grand challenge to understand the structure-performance correlation due to the structural complexity of VOx-based catalysts in a reduced state. This paper describes the structure and catalytic properties of the VOx/ZrO2 catalyst. When using ZrO2 as the support, the catalyst shows six times higher turnover frequency (TOF) than using commercial gamma-Al2O3. Combining H-2-temperature programmed reduction, in situ Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical studies, we find that the interaction between VOx and ZrO2 can facilitate the reduction of V-O bonds, including V & xe001;O, V-O-V and V-O-Zr. The promoting effect could be attributed to the formation of low coordinated V species in VOx/ZrO2 which is more active in C-H activation. Our work provides a new insight into understanding the structure-performance correlation in VOx-based catalysts for non-oxidative propane dehydrogenation.