Temperature-driven reaction pathways in alkane direct dehydrogenation over metal-free nitrogen doped carbocatalysts

Metal-free heteroatom-doped carbocatalysts are promising alternatives to precious metals for alkane direct dehydrogenation/hydrogenation and reversible hydrogen storage, yet the nature of their active sites remains poorly understood. This study investigates a nitrogen assembly carbocatalyst (NAC) for efficient and selective hydrocarbon dehydrogenation. For ethylbenzene, NAC maintains a selectivity of >99% towards styrene at a conversion of >20% for 120 hours at a weight hourly space velocity of 0.4 h^-1. Theoretical studies suggest that closely spaced graphitic nitrogen sites are the active sites for the chemisorption and dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene, and the robustness of these sites is supported by ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Kinetic analysis reveals a temperature-dependent reaction profile, with distinct activation energies and reaction orders at 300 and 500 °C. Isotope-labeling studies indicate that dehydrogenation primarily proceeds via initial cleavage of the benzylic C-H bond, and the faster desorption of ethylbenzene at higher temperatures contributes to the difference in kinetic behavior. Importantly, the NAC catalyst also enables efficient hydrogenation of styrene back to ethylbenzene at 250 °C, allowing for reversible hydrogen storage using a single catalyst at moderate temperatures. These findings underscore the significance of constructing high densities of closely spaced graphitic nitrogen in carbocatalysts for enhanced activity and selectivity.