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Recent Advances in the Understanding of Boron-Containing Catalysts for the Selective Oxidation of Alkanes to Olefins

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Abstract

The production of ethylene and propylene through aerobic alkane oxidation without significant coproduction of CO and CO2 (COx) presents a challenge to academic and industrial researchers alike. Recently, boron-containing materials such as hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) have been identified as active and selective catalysts for the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of propane to propylene with minimal COx selectivity. Additionally, high olefin selectivity is also obtained in the oxidation of other alkanes and other materials such as metal borides and supported B/SiO2 have been successfully applied to this transformation. Recent advances in the understanding of these catalysts in the oxidation of light alkanes are presented here providing a framework for further study of this exciting field.

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Fig. 1

Reprinted with permission from Ref. [16]. Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society

Fig. 2

Reprinted from Ref. [16]. Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society

Fig. 3

Adapted from Ref. [19]. Copyright 2019 Wiley

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Acknowledgements

Materials synthesis and characterization (M.C.C., I.H.) were supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant CBET-1605101. Catalytic testing (W.P.M., I.H) was supported by U.S. Department of Energy under Grant DE-SC0017918.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    William P. McDermott, Melissa C. Cendejas & Ive Hermans

  2. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Ive Hermans

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  1. William P. McDermott
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  2. Melissa C. Cendejas
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  3. Ive Hermans
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Correspondence to Ive Hermans.

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McDermott, W.P., Cendejas, M.C. & Hermans, I. Recent Advances in the Understanding of Boron-Containing Catalysts for the Selective Oxidation of Alkanes to Olefins. Top Catal 63, 1700–1707 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11244-020-01383-z

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