Atomically Precise Strategy to a PtZn Alloy Nanocluster Catalyst for the Deep Dehydrogenation of n-Butane to 1,3-Butadiene

The development of on-purpose 1,3-butadiene (BDE) technologies remains an active area in catalysis research due to the importance of BDE in industrial polymer production. Here, we report on a non-oxidative dehydrogenation catalyst for the production of BDE prepared by atomically precise installation of platinum sites on a Zn-modified SiO2 sup-port via Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). In situ reduction x-ray adsorption spectroscopy (XAS) experiments, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), CO chemisorption, and high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) imaging of activated PtZn/SiO2 material, revealed the formation of a uniform, well-distributed sub-nano to nanometer PtZn (1.2 ± 0.3 nm) alloy as the active catalytic species.