Open-cage fullerene-like graphitic carbons as catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane.
We report herein a facile synthesis of fullerene-like cages, which can be opened and closed through simple thermal treatments. A glassy carbon with enclosed fullerene-like cages of 2-3 nm was synthesized through a soft-template approach that created open mesopores of 7 nm. The open mesopores provided access to the fullerene-like cages, which were opened and closed through heat treatments in air and inert gas at various temperatures. Catalytic measurements showed that the open cages displayed strikingly higher activity for the oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane in comparison to the closed ones. We anticipate that this synthesis approach could unravel an avenue for pursuing fundamental understanding of the unique catalytic properties of graphitic carbon nanostructures.
Liang
Chengdu
C
Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Tennessee, 37831, USA. liangcn@ornl.gov
Xie
Hong
H
Schwartz
Viviane
V
Howe
Jane
J
Dai
Sheng
S
Overbury
Steven H
SH