title: Selective oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to propene using boron nitride catalysts.
abstract: The exothermic oxidative dehydrogenation of propane reaction to generate propene has the potential to be a game-changing technology in the chemical industry. However, even after decades of research, selectivity to propene remains too low to be commercially attractive because of overoxidation of propene to thermodynamically favored CO2Here, we report that hexagonal boron nitride and boron nitride nanotubes exhibit unique and hitherto unanticipated catalytic properties, resulting in great selectivity to olefins. As an example, at 14% propane conversion, we obtain selectivity of 79% propene and 12% ethene, another desired alkene. Based on catalytic experiments, spectroscopic insights, and ab initio modeling, we put forward a mechanistic hypothesis in which oxygen-terminated armchair boron nitride edges are proposed to be the catalytic active sites.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Carrero
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Goeltl
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Venegas
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Burt
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Specht
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: McDermott
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chieregato
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA. hermans@chem.wisc.edu.|Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hermans