Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., e202424800 (2025)

Stefan-Boltzmann Water Catalyzed Propane Dehydrogenation

Xue Ding¹, Zichan Zheng², Chengyuan Liu³, Junchuan Sun¹, Yongcai Zhang⁴, Chen Huang³, Wenguang Tu¹, Long Zhao^3,5,*, Zhixin Hu^2,*, Zhigang Zou^1,6,* and Lu Wang^1,*

1 School of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518172, Guangdong, P. R. China.

2 Center for Joint Quantum Studies and Department of Physics, Institute of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, P. R. China.

3 National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230029, P. R. China.

4 School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, P. R. China.

5 School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, P. R. China.

6 National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, School of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, P. R. China.

* zgzou@nju.edu.cn, lwang@cuhk.edu.cn, zhixin.hu@tju.edu.cn, zhaolong@ustc.edu.cn

Abstract

The traditional wisdom of utilizing water in practical olefin synthesis has been viewed as a means to reduce alkane partial pressure and assist in coke removal. However, under such harsh reaction conditions, the potential catalytic role of the water molecule remains unclear. This study explores the intriguing concept that the water molecule, through the selective excitation of molecular vibrations and collisions induced by thermal energy and thermal radiation, could act as a catalyst in homogeneous gaseous propane dehydrogenation. This occurs via the generation of the OH* radicals, resulting in an olefin yield of 37.93%, a single pass propane conversion of 51.14%, and an excellent stability of more than 2000 hours.