Harnessing Effect of Confinement for Efficient On-Purpose Propane Dehydrogenation

Objective

"An efficient and sustainable propylene industry is fuelling the EU's prosperity and competitiveness. Developing the next-generation catalysts for propane dehydrogenation (PDH) to fill the ""propylene gap"" is scientifically challenging and technologically important. The proposed project entitled ""Harnessing Effect of Confinement for Efficient On-Purpose PDH"" (HEC4PDH) aims to push the development and understanding of high performance PDH catalyst beyond the state-of-the-art by exploiting confinement effect of supported catalysts. This project is planned to be carried out at the world-renowned Weckhuysen Group at Utrecht University. The developed catalysts are targeted to set new standards to the field (>95% C3H6 Sel., >100 mmol C3H6/gcat/h with >1000 h of stable operation). The structure-activity relationships of PDH catalysis will be uncovered with advanced environmental TEM, operando modulation excitation spectroscopies and computational methodologies. A prototype catalyst has already been synthesized and evaluated with exceptional activity by the applicant at Peking University. Success in the proposed study is expected to have substantial scientific, economic and social impacts: Improvement or replacement of the current expensive PtSn-based catalysts and hazardous CrOx-based catalysts will result in significant acceleration of the EU's action towards more affordable, secure and sustainable energy. Through cross-disciplinary collaborations with other famous institutes worldwide (University of Antwerp, ETH, etc.), the researcher will not only refine his skill in catalysis investigations, but also strengthen the connections between academia and industry and develop unique approaches for networking and knowledge dissemination. Achieving the ambitious goal of this fellowship will help the candidate becoming an independent academic leader in Netherlands/EU in the near future, and pursue his life-long commitment to scientific exploration."