Dual Nanoparticle/Substrate Control of Catalytic Dehydrogenation

Chromia/alumina catalysts are widely used for oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes, but questions about the relationship between their properties and characteristics remain. Experimental techniques and first‐principles calculations are used to demonstrate that the reaction is enabled by CrOx clusters adsorbed on alumina surfaces, and that the key reaction sites are low‐coordination‐number O atoms (see figure).