Plasma Tuning Local Environment of Hexagonal Boron Nitride for Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane.

Hexagonal boron nitride ( h -BN) has lately received great attention in the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) reaction of propane to propylene for its extraordinary olefin selectivity in contrast to metal oxides. However, high crystallinity of commercial h -BN and elusive cognition of active sites hindered the enhancement of utilization efficiency. Herein, four kinds of plasmas (N 2 , O 2 , H 2 , Ar) were accordingly employed to regulate the local chemical environment of h -BN. N 2 -treated BN exhibited a remarkable activity, i.e., 26.0% propane conversion with 89.4% selectivity toward olefins at 520 °C. Spectroscopy demonstrated that "three-boron center" N-defects in the catalyst played a pivotal role in facilitating the conversion of propane. While the sintering effect of the "BO x " species in O 2 -treated BN, led to the suppressed catalytic performance (12.4% conversion at 520 °C).