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Ethylene production via photocatalytic dehydrogenation of ethane using LaMn1−xCuxO3

Author

Listed:
  • Rui Song

    (Soochow University
    University of Toronto
    Soochow University)

  • Guanshu Zhao

    (University of Toronto)

  • Juan Manuel Restrepo-Flórez

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison
    University of Florida)

  • Camilo J. Viasus Pérez

    (University of Toronto)

  • Zhijie Chen

    (Soochow University
    Soochow University)

  • Chaoqian Ai

    (Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • Andrew Wang

    (University of Toronto)

  • Dengwei Jing

    (Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • Athanasios A. Tountas

    (University of Toronto)

  • Jiuli Guo

    (University of Toronto)

  • Chengliang Mao

    (University of Toronto)

  • Chaoran Li

    (Soochow University
    Soochow University)

  • Jiahui Shen

    (Soochow University)

  • Guangming Cai

    (University of Toronto)

  • Chenyue Qiu

    (University of Toronto)

  • Jessica Ye

    (University of Toronto)

  • Yubin Fu

    (Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics)

  • Chistos T. Maravelias

    (Princeton University
    Princeton University)

  • Lu Wang

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shenzhen)

  • Junchuan Sun

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shenzhen)

  • Yang-Fan Xu

    (University of Toronto)

  • Zhao Li

    (University of Toronto)

  • Joel Yi Yang Loh

    (University of Toronto)

  • Nhat Truong Nguyen

    (Concordia University)

  • Le He

    (Soochow University
    Soochow University)

  • Xiaohong Zhang

    (Soochow University
    Soochow University)

  • Geoffrey A. Ozin

    (University of Toronto)

Abstract

Industrial-scale ethylene production occurs primarily by fossil-powered steam cracking of ethane—a high-temperature, high-energy process. An alternative, photochemical, pathway powered by sunlight and operating under ambient conditions could potentially mitigate some of the associated greenhouse gas emissions. Here we report the photocatalytic dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene and hydrogen using LaMn1−xCuxO3. This perovskite oxide possesses redox-active Lewis acid sites, comprising Mn(III) and Mn(IV), and Lewis base sites, comprising O(-II) and OH(-I), collectively dubbed surface-frustrated Lewis pairs. We find that tuning the relative proportions of these sites optimizes the activity, selectivity and yield for ethane dehydrogenation. The highest ethylene production rate and ethane conversion achieved were around 1.1 mmol g−1 h−1 and 4.9%, respectively. We show a simple outdoor prototype to demonstrate the viability of a solar ethylene process. In addition, techno-economic analysis revealed the economic potential of an industrial-scale solar ethylene production from ethane.

Suggested Citation

  • Rui Song & Guanshu Zhao & Juan Manuel Restrepo-Flórez & Camilo J. Viasus Pérez & Zhijie Chen & Chaoqian Ai & Andrew Wang & Dengwei Jing & Athanasios A. Tountas & Jiuli Guo & Chengliang Mao & Chaoran L, 2024. "Ethylene production via photocatalytic dehydrogenation of ethane using LaMn1−xCuxO3," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 9(6), pages 750-760, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natene:v:9:y:2024:i:6:d:10.1038_s41560-024-01541-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41560-024-01541-7
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