Isolated Fe<sup>II</sup> on Silica As a Selective
Propane Dehydrogenation Catalyst
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Abstract
We report a comparative study of
isolated Fe<sup>II</sup>, iron
oxide particles, and metallic nanoparticles on silica for non-oxidative
propane dehydrogenation. It was found that the most selective catalyst
was an isolated Fe<sup>II</sup> species on silica prepared by grafting
the open cyclopentadienide iron complex, bis(2,4-dimethyl-1,3-pentadienide)
iron(II) or Fe(<i>o</i>Cp)<sub>2</sub>. The grafting and
evolution of the surface species was elucidated by <sup>1</sup>H NMR,
diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy and X-ray
absorption spectroscopies. The oxidation state and local structure
of surface Fe were characterized by X-ray absorption near-edge structure
(XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure. The initial
grafting of iron proceeds by one surface hydroxyl Si–OH reacting
with Fe(<i>o</i>Cp)<sub>2</sub> to release one diene ligand
(<i>o</i>CpH), generating a SiO<sub>2</sub>-bound Fe<sup>II</sup>(<i>o</i>Cp) species, <b>1-Fe</b><i><b>o</b></i><b>Cp</b>. Subsequent treatment with
H<sub>2</sub> at 400 °C leads to loss of the remaining diene
ligand and formation of nanosized iron oxide clusters, <b>1-C</b>. Dispersion of these Fe oxide clusters occurs at 650 °C, forming
an isolated, ligand-free Fe<sup>II</sup> on silica, <b>1-Fe</b><sup><b>II</b></sup>, which is catalytically active and highly
selective (∼99%) for propane dehydrogenation to propene. Under
reaction conditions, there is no evidence of metallic Fe by in situ
XANES. For comparison, metallic Fe nanoparticles, <b>2-NP-Fe</b><sup><b>0</b></sup>, were independently prepared by grafting
Fe[N(SiMe<sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub>]<sub>2</sub> onto silica, <b>2-FeN*</b>, and reducing it at 650 °C in H<sub>2</sub>. The
Fe NPs were highly active for propane conversion but showed poor selectivity
(∼14%) to propene. Independently prepared Fe oxide clusters
on silica display a low activity. The sum of these results suggests
that selective propane dehydrogenation occurs at isolated Fe<sup>II</sup> sites