Selective oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane over SnO2-promoted NiO catalysts

[EN] Ni-Sn-O mixed oxides catalysts have been investigated for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane. The catalysts were prepared through the evaporation of aqueous solutions of nickel nitrate and tin oxalate and finally calcined in air at 500 degrees C for 2 h. These materials have been characterized by several techniques (N-2-adsorption, X-ray diffraction, High-Resolution Electron Microscopy, temperature programmed reduction, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy of adsorbed CO and O-18/O-16 isotope exchange). The addition of just a tiny amount of tin highly increases the selectivity to ethylene (from ca. 40% to 80-90%). Thus, high selectivity to et…