Doping effects on ethane/ethylene dehydrogenation catalyzed by Pt2X nanoclusters

The catalytic dehydrogenation of light alkanes is key to transform low-cost hydrocarbons to high value-added chemicals. Although Pt is extremely efficient at catalyzing this reaction, it suffers from coke formation that deactivates the catalyst. Dopants such as Sn are widely used to increase the stability and lifetime of Pt. In this work, the dehydrogenation reaction of ethane catalyzed by Pt3 and Pt2X (X = Si, Ge, Sn, P and Al) nanocatalysts has been studied computationaly by means of density functional calculations. Our results show how the presence of dopants in the nanocluster structure affects its electronic properties and catalytic activity. Exploration of the potential energy surfaces show that non–doped catalyst Pt3 present low selectivity towards ethylene formation, where acetylene resulting from double dehydrogenation reaction will be obtained as a side product (in agreement with the experimental evidence). On the contrary, the inclusion of Si, Ge, Sn, P or Al as dopant agents implies a selectivity enhancement, where acetylene formation is not energetically favoured. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of such dopant elements for the design of Pt–based catalysts on ethane dehydrogenation.