Dehydrogenation of propane to propylene using chromia- or platinum-based catalysts is an important industrial reaction. No current process is perfect because of coking and cracking problems so chemists are keen to find more efficient and effective alternatives. Avoiding expensive heavy metal catalysts is a bonus.

Mesoporous carbon’s large surface area and uniform pore size hints at their being a useful material for trapping and converting starting material selectively through heterogeneous catalysis. In tests, metal-free mesoporous carbon demonstrates its prowess, beating its nano-structure counterpart in the dehydrogenation of propane to propylene without the need for auxiliary steam, according to Chinese chemists.

• Ordered mesoporous carbon catalyst for dehydrogenation of propane to propylene
  L. Liu, Q.-F. Deng, B. Agula, X. Zhao, T.-Z. Ren, Z.-Y. Yuan,
  Chem. Commun. 2011.
  DOI: 10.1039/C1CC12806J