Electrochemical oxidative dehydrogenation of propane within solid oxide electrolysis cells

Abstract

The oxidative propane dehydrogenation (OPDH) to propylene represents a promising and viable route for the growing demand of olefin production. Poor propylene products selectivity, however, is a severe challenge due to the easy deep oxidation. Herein, we proposed a conceptually novel process of electrochemical CO₂-OPDH based on solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs), which is expected to efficiently produce propylene simultaneously utilizing CO₂. By regulating the migration behavior of oxygen species from cathode to anode through current, an 80.7 % low-carbon olefins selectivity was achieved, and the propane conversion was increased by 17 times compared to open circuit conditions. Intrinsically, the current driven lattice oxygen on-line restoration mechanism was proposed, that the electrolytic O²⁻ migrates to anode surface driven by the current to effectively restore the lattice oxygen and maintains the active structure, leading to improved OPDH performance and suppressing coking. This work provides a new electrochemical approach for selective oxidation reactions.