Abstract
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•Co3O4 catalyst prepared by using ZIF-8 support possesses tunable morphology, crystallite size and surface area.•Co3O4 catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic performance for Low-temperature (175 °C) Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane.•Loose flake-like morphology could significantly lower reaction temperatures.•Surface Co3+ and lattice Co Co-O bond are responsible for high activity.
Oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODP) is an intriguingly alternative approach for presently industrial propene manufacture. However, the high temperature (>500 °C) would aggravate the deep oxidation of propene and catalyst deactivation. Co3O4 catalyst prepared by using ZIF-8 support possesses tunable morphology, crystallite size and surface area, affording low-temperature (175 °C) propane conversion catalyst. Loose flake-like morphology with the smaller crystallite sizes and the larger surface area could significantly lower reaction temperature. At given propene yield, more propane conversion (21.1%) indicated that propene combustion occurred, and lower reaction temperatures contribute to boosting propene yield. The higher catalytic activity could be ascribed to easier reducibility of Co3+, the higher concentration of surface Co3+ and more surface content of lattice CoO bond. Moreover, the Co3O4-500 catalyst displays excellent thermostability after a 20 h time on stream at 250 °C.