Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane over LaF3single bondCeO2 catalysts Original Research Article

A new series of very selective rare earth oxyfluoride LaF3single bondCeO2 catalysts was prepared and used for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (ODE). At 953 K and C2H6 : O2 : N2=2 : 1 : 7, C2H4 selectivity of 94.5% with C2H6 conversion of 23.4% were achieved over LaF3single bondCeO2 (1 : 1 in mole) catalyst. XRD and BET measurements showed that LaF3 dissolved in CeO2 and acted as an isolation material as well as partial anions (F−, O2−) and/or cations (La3+, Ce4+) exchange between LaF3 and CeO2 phases might be responsible for the high selectivity.