Direct Hydrothermal Synthesis of Cr/MCM-41 Nanocatalyst for Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane to Ethylene

The Cr/MCM-41 nanocatalysts were prepared by two different direct hydrothermal (DH) and impregnation(I) methods. The physicochemical properties of the nanocatalysts are characterized by XRD, FESEM, EDX dot-mappingand BET analysis and tested for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene. EDX dot-mapping illustratedhomogenous dispersion of Cr, Si and O elements in both type of catalysts. FESEM results demonstrated that adding Crto MCM-41 with impregnation method causes particles to get smaller in nanoscale and more uniform. BET resultsindicated that adding of active phase into support framework reduces specific surface area more than impregnationmethod by influencing on support structure. In summery, it was found that Cr/MCM-41 nanocatalyst prepared byimpregnation has better catalytic performance than catalyst prepared by direct hydrothermal because of better structureand accessible active phase.

Keywords:

Cr/MCM‐41 , Direct Hydrothermal , Oxidative Dehydrogenation , Ethane , Ethylene