Efficient Photocatalytic Propane Direct Dehydrogenation to Propylene Over PtO2 Clusters

Abstract The direct dehydrogenation of alkanes to olefins under mild conditions is challenging due to the inert nature of alkyl C─H bonds. Herein, an efficient photocatalytic system is developed for propane direct dehydrogenation (PDH) to propylene, consisting of ≈1.30 nm sized PtO 2 clusters immobilized on a layered double hydroxide ‐derived ZnO/Al 2 O 3 support (LD‐Pt n ). Under UV excitation (365 nm), photogenerated holes in ZnO migrate to Pt sites at PtO 2 /ZnO interfaces, thereby activating and dissociating C─H bonds in propane. A propylene production rate of almost 1 mmol g −1 h −1 and a nearly 100% selectivity are achieved for the compositionally optimized LD‐Pt n photocatalyst. Control experiments and density functional theory calculations further verify that the excellent photocatalytic PDH performance of LD‐Pt n stems from synergism between ZnO semiconductor and the loaded Pt species. This work identifies a promising new route for direct production of olefins from alkanes.