Enhancing selectivity and reducing cost for dehydrogenation of dodecahydro-N-ethylcarbazole by supporting platinum on titanium dioxide

N-ethylcarbazole/dodecahydro-N-ethylcarbazole (NECZ/12H-NECZ) was a promising system for hydrogen storage applications. 1.0 wt% Pt/TiO₂ was regarded as the optimal loading in Pt/TiO₂ catalyst applied in the 12H-NECZ dehydrogenation reaction. The hydrogen release amount, selectivity to NECZ and TOF of 12H-NECZ dehydrogenation are 5.75 wt %, 98% and 229.73 min⁻¹ at 453 K. Compared with the commercial 5.0 wt% Pd and Pt-based catalysts, it exhibited very high activity, selectivity and stability for 12H-NECZ dehydrogenation with low Pt loading. Combined with the XRD, XPS, HRTEM, TPR analysis, it was indicated that the enhanced catalytic performance was due to the SMSI (strong metal-supporting interaction) between Pt and TiO₂ support, which accelerated the rate-limiting step and enhanced the whole dehydrogenation reaction. This work may be beneficial for the commercial application of Pt/TiO₂ catalysts in the Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) system.