Silica-Supported Au-Ni Catalysts for the Dehydrogenation of Propane

Inspired by previous studies on model systems, a series of silica-supported Au-Ni catalysts were prepared and tested for the conversion of propane in the presence of hydrogen. The Au-Ni/SiO2 catalysts were prepared by successive impregnation, i.e. Ni was deposited first followed by Au. TEM/EDX results confirmed the presence of bimetallic Au-Ni nanoparticles. The dehydrogenation of propane to propylene was observed on the Au-Ni bimetallic catalysts, whereas only hydrogenolysis products were observed on the monometallic Ni catalyst. The selectivity to propylene was found to increase monotonically with the Au loading. The results are in good agreement with the results on model catalysts.