title: Hybrid nanocarbon as a catalyst for direct dehydrogenation of propane: formation of an active and selective core-shell sp2/sp3 nanocomposite structure.
abstract: Hybrid nanocarbon, comprised of a diamond core and a graphitic shell with a variable sp(2)-/sp(3)-carbon ratio, is controllably obtained through sequential annealing treatment (550-1300 °C) of nanodiamond. The formation of sp(2) carbon increases with annealing temperature and the nanodiamond surface is reconstructed from amorphous into a well-ordered, onion-like carbon structure via an intermediate composite structure--a diamond core covered by a defective, curved graphene outer shell. Direct dehydrogenation of propane shows that the sp(2)-/sp(3)-nanocomposite exhibits superior catalytic performance to that of individual nanodiamond and graphitic nanocarbon. The optimum catalytic activity of the diamond/graphene composite depends on the maximum structural defectiveness and high chemical reactivity of the ketone groups. Ketone-type functional groups anchored on the defects/vacancies are active for propene formation; nevertheless, once the oxygen functional groups are desorbed, the defects/vacancies alone might be active sites responsible for the C-H bond activation of propane.
authors.affiliation: Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110016 (P.R. China); National Institute of Clean-and-Low-Carbon Energy, Changping District, Beijing, 102209 (P.R. China).
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Bingsen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiaoying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Dangsheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Su
keywords: carbon; core-shell structures; dehydrogenation; nanoparticles; propane