CAREER: Unraveling the Mechanisms Behind the Activity of Magnetically Driven Propane Dehydrogenation Catalysts

About This Grant

This project focuses on making industrial processes more sustainable and efficient, particularly for creating propylene, a key chemical used in many commercial products. Producing propylene is challenging because current methods waste carbon and require significant energy, which is not sustainable. This research explores a novel way to improve the process by studying how induction heating, which is a method of generating heat using magnetic fields, can enhance the process reaction and make the process more efficient. This will result in a reduced carbon footprint and additional investments in renewable energy technologies. The project also includes educational outreach to inspire students to learn about sustainability and decarbonization, helping build a greener future. The goal of the CAREER project is to understand the influence of induction heating on the bonding and activity of industrially relevant catalysts via propane dehydrogenation (PDH) to propylene. The objectives of the project are: (1) to determine the effects of localized heating on PDH activity; (2) to elucidate the surface reconstruction of platinum atoms under induction heating; and (3) to establish the impact of the magnetic field on the spin states of electrons on the bonding. This investigation will isolate thermal and magnetic effects to clarify the reaction mechanism and kinetics, as well as ascertain the local coordination environment of platinum and cobalt in the presence of magnetic fields. The CAREER project will validate the impact of the electromagnetic field on the spin state during PDH, which can minimize further hydrogenation and enhance the selectivity of propylene. Such efforts will serve as a foundational pillar toward the investigator’s long-term career objective of comprehensively understanding the dynamic environment of active sites, facilitating precise analyses of reaction pathways and kinetics, in addition to the development of sustainable catalytic processes aimed at decarbonizing the chemical industry. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.