Unravelling the origin of Fe-based catalysts performance for CO2-assisted ethylene production

Ethylene is a petrochemically derived monomer and the largest from the olefins market. It is mainly produced through an energy demanding process, named steam cracking. The oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene, implementing a catalyst, is considered the most attractive alternative route to the conventional steam cracking. Fe-based catalysts are highly selective for tandem reactions of ethane dehydrogenation (DH) and CO2 reduction (CO2-EDH), even more when they are supported on a NiO containing mixed oxide. As undesired side reactions can decrease selectivity towards the main product, i.e. ethylene, the research challenge in CO2-EDH is to develop catalysts which can selectively cleave the C-H bond and preserve the C-C bond, while in parallel activate CO2, producing CO and oxygen species (O*). The aim of this proposal is to identify in situ the structure of active Fe and Ni sites, along with a potential developed interface, that defines the activity, selectivity and stability.