Influence of Alumina Content on Catalytic Performance of PtSn/Al2O3/SBA-15 Catalysts for Propane Dehydrogenation

The alumina-modified SBA-15 (Al2O3/SBA-15) zeolite was prepared in a non-aqueous system by using toluene as the solvent, and was used to support the PtSn-based catalyst for propane dehydrogenation. The BET surface area measurements, hydrogen chemisorption, FT-IR spectroscopy, NH3-TPD, XPS and TPO techniques were used to characterize the catalysts. Test results showed that the addition of alumina not only could modify the acid function of the support but also the structure of the metallic phase, thus affecting their catalytic properties. Among these catalysts studied, the PtSn/Al2O3 (5%)/SBA-15 catalyst exhibited a best catalytic performance in terms of propane conversion and selectivity to propene. The high catalytic performance might be attributed to the relatively good Pt metal dispersion and/or the strong interaction between Pt and Sn species.