Building Si-O-B bridges within silica for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane

Boron-based catalysts have been widely investigated in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODHP) owing to its brilliant olefin selectivity. Recently, researchers have made progress in designing boron-silica catalysts by employing cheap silica and commercially available B 2 O 3 as the precursors, but the synthetic process is complex and the catalytic performance requires further improvement. Herein, we report a boron-doped silica catalyst through a simple modified Stöber method. The obtained catalyst, with its abundant tricoordinated boron active species anchored by Si–O–B bridges, shows excellent catalytic performance in ODHP. This promising result may offer a simple and effective synthesis strategy towards designing high-performance boron-based catalysts for the conversion of propane to olefins.