Boron Nitride Dispersing Strategy to Engineer Edge B Active Sites to Promote Propane Oxidative Dehydrogenation

Abstract

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) demonstrates high olefin selectivity in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODHP), outperforming metal oxide catalysts prone to overoxidation. However, the catalytic efficiency of h-BN is limited by a stable structure that resists regulation, a low specific surface area, and scarce oxy/hydroxylated edge-active sites formed at edges and defects. In this study, we successfully tuned the edge B active site of h-BN by dispersing flake h-BN nanosheets on an h-BN support, forming an architecture with an increased surface area and dense edge sites. The optimized catalyst achieves a propane conversion of 46.9%, an olefin yield of 32.2%, and a deactivation <5% over 50 h, exhibiting activity more than 2.1 times that of commercial h-BN. Characterizations revealed that by optimizing the structure and density of active sites through edge exposure, the contact efficiency between propane and reactive centers is enhanced, thereby establishing an efficient ODHP catalytic system that integrates activity, selectivity, and stability.