Oxidative dehydrogenation of propane with N2O over Fe-ZSM-5 and Fe–SiO2: Influence of the iron species and acid sites

A series of iron containing zeolites with varying Si/Al ratios (11.5–140) and low iron content (∼0.9 wt.% Fe) have been synthesised by solid-state ion exchange with commercially available zeolites and tested, for the first time, in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODHP) with N2O. The samples were characterised by XRD, N2-Adsorption, NH3-TPD and DR-UV–vis spectroscopy. The acidity of the Fe-ZSM-5 can be controlled by high temperature and steam treatments and Si/Al ratio. The selectivity and yield of propene were found to be the highest over Fe-ZSM-5 with low Al contents and reduced acidity. The initial propene yield over Fe-ZSM-5 was significantly higher than that of Fe–SiO2 since the presence of weak and/or medium acid sites together with oligonuclear iron species and iron oxides on the ZSM-5 are found to enhance the N2O activation. The coking of Fe-ZSM-5 catalysts could also be controlled by reduction of the surface acidity of ZSM-5 and by the use of O2 in addition to N2O as the oxidant. Fe-ZSM-5 zeolites prepared with solid-state method have been shown to have comparable activity and better stability towards coking compared with Fe-ZSM-5 zeolites prepared by liquid ion exchange and hydrothermal synthesis methods.

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► Fe-ZSM-5 zeolites prepared with solid-state show high stability for ODHP.
► The acidity degree of Fe-ZSM-5 is important for high propene selectivity.
► The acidity of Fe-ZSM-5 can be controlled by the treatment conditions and Si/Al ratio.
► Highly selective propane dehydrogenation to propene over Fe–SiO2 is obtained.