Constructing tri-coordinated Al (Al III ) sites to boost complete propane oxidation of the Pt/Al 2 O 3 catalyst

Complete oxidation of propane has drawn great attention in the fields of automotive emission control and volatile organic compound elimination. However, it is challenging to achieve high activity of this reaction due to the stability of propane. We here utilize a facile solvothermal method to construct tri-coordinated Al (Al III ) sites on the as-synthesized ST-Al 2 O 3 support to alter the properties of supported Pt species. It is demonstrated that Al III sites facilitate the dispersion and electron enrichment of supported Pt sites. Thus, Pt/ST-Al 2 O 3 exhibits a superior activity toward complete propane oxidation, showing a 6.7-fold improvement in the turnover frequency over commercial Pt/Al 2 O 3 catalysts. Meanwhile, Pt/ST-Al 2 O 3 possesses a distinct reaction route originating from its stronger C–H and C–C cleavage capability, while having excellent activity not only in complete propane oxidation but also in the complete oxidation of other alkanes (CH 4 , C 2 H 6 , and n -C 4 H 10 ). In addition, the Al III construction strategy is successfully extended to more cases, e.g. , Pd/ST-Al 2 O 3 with higher Pd dispersion and electron density. This work provides a promising strategy for the control of the oxide support for advanced design and synthesis of alkane oxidation catalysts.