Carbon mediated catalysis: A review on oxidative dehydrogenation

Carbon mediated catalysis has gained an increasing attention in both areas of nanocatalysis and nanomaterials. The progress in carbon nanomaterials provides many new opportunities to manipulate the types and properties of active sites of catalysts through manipulating structures, functionalities and properties of carbon surfaces. The present review focuses on progresses in carbon mediated oxidative dehydrogenation reactions of ethylbenzene, propane, and butane. The state-of-the-art of the developments of carbon mediated catalysis is discussed in terms of fundamental studies on adsorption of oxygen and hydrocarbons, reaction mechanism as well as effects of carbon nanomaterial structures and surface functional groups on the catalytic performance. We highlight the importance and challenges in tuning of the electron density of carbon and oxygen on carbon surfaces for improving selectivity in oxidative dehydrogenation reactions.

Graphical AbstractDevelopments of carbon mediated oxidative dehydrogenation are reviewed in terms of fundamental studies on adsorption, reaction mechanism as well as effects of carbon nanomaterial structures and surface functional groups on the catalytic performance.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide