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Updated: Sep 6, 2025

Organic Structure-directing Agent-free Synthesis for *BEA-type Zeolite Membrane
Published on: February 22, 2020
Highly Active and Selective Sites for Propane Dehydrogenation in Zeolite Ga-BEA
Lingli Ni1, Rachit Khare1, Ricardo Bermejo-Deval1
1Department of Chemistry and Catalysis Research Center, Technical University of Munich, Garching 85747, Germany.
Abstract:
A highly selective Ga-modified zeolite BEA for propane dehydrogenation has been synthesized by grafting Ga on Zn-BEA followed by removal of Zn in the presence of H2. A propene selectivity of 82% at 19% propane conversion illustrates the high selectivity at 813 K. The kinetic model of the catalyzed dehydrogenation including the elementary steps of propane adsorption, first and second C-H bond cleavage, and propene and H2 desorption demonstrates that the propane dehydrogenation rate is determined by the first C-H bond cleavage at low pC, while at high pC, the rate is limited by the desorption of H2. The active sites have been identified as dehydrated and tetrahedrally coordinated Ga3+ in the *BEA lattice. The low selectivity toward aromatics is concluded to be associated with the high Lewis acid strength of lattice Ga3+ and the low Brønsted acid strength of the hydrated Ga sites.
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