Synthesis of Three-Dimensionally Ordered Macroporous NiCe Catalysts for Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane to Propene

Three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) NiCe catalysts with different Ni/Ce molar ratio were fabricated using the colloidal crystal templating method. The physic-chemical properties of the samples were characterized by various techniques, including N2 adsorption–desorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman, and H2-temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) characterizations. The results revealed that the 3DOM NiCe samples preserved the three-dimensionally ordered macroporous channels with interlinked micro- or mesoporous structure and highly dispersed nickel oxide species in the framework upon different amount of nickel incorporation. In the evaluation of the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of propane, the 3DOM NiCe catalysts exhibited higher selectivity and yield to propene than the amorphous NiCe catalyst. An optimum yield of propene of 11.9% with the 30.3% propane conversion at 375 °C was obtained over the 3DOM 2NiCe catalyst. Combining XRD, TPR, and Raman analysis, it could be found that the nickel incorporation in CeO2 lattice produced a high concentration of oxygen vacancies that were the active sites for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane. Besides this, the 3DOM structure promoted the rapid diffusion of the reactants and products—favorable for the generation of propene in the ODH of propane