(624f) Platinum-Indium Clusters Confined in Zeolite to Promote Alkane Dehydrogenation

Designing highly active and stable catalytic sites is often challenging because of the agglomeration of active sites during high-temperature reactions. Pt-based catalysts have been widely investigated for propane dehydrogenation due to their superior reactivity to other catalysts such as Cr- and Ga-based catalysts. However, Pt nanoparticles deactivate quickly because of the coke formation. The second metal is added to break the Pt-Pt bond to form either PtM ensembles, which inhibit side reaction and coke formation, thereby enhancing catalyst stability. Here, we report the synthesis of PtIn clusters confined by MFI zeolite. In-situ characterization confirms the encapsulation of PtIn species in micropores of MFI zeolite. The resulting PtIn clusters show excellent propane conversion, propylene selectivity, and catalytic stability, outperforming monometallic Pt, In, and bimetallic PtIn alloys. The presence of indium tunes the electronic properties of Pt clusters to facilitate propane activation and propylene desorption, as supported by the DFT calculations. This work provides guidance for developing highly efficient bimetallic encapsulated in zeolites towards propane dehydrogenation.