Evolution of the optimal catalytic systems for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane: The role of adsorption in the catalytic performance

Three samples that correspond to the evolution of optimal catalytic systems for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane have been synthesized and compared in terms of catalytic behavior and adsorption properties: (i) vanadium oxide supported on alumina, (ii) Sn-promoted NiO, and (iii) multicomponent MoVTeNbO with the M1 structure. The main difference in catalytic performance lies in the extent of the overoxidation of the ethylene formed, following the order VOx/Al2O3 > NiSnOx > MoVTeNb-M1. Accordingly, the selectivity to ethylene at medium and high ethane conversion follows the order MoVTeNb-M1 > NiSnOx > VOx/Al2O3. These results are confirmed by the relative reaction rates observed for the…