Performance of Immobilized Metal Phthalocyanines on Bentonite in Ethylbenzene Dehydrogenation

Catalytic dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene was studied using immobilized transition metal phthalocyanines on bentonite at different temperatures, catalyst weight and load %. Nickel phthalocyanine on bentonite with different loads indicated that 1 wt.% loading was the most active for styrene preparation. Studying the effect of different metal phthalocyanines (Ni, Cu, Fe and Co) immobilized on bentonite at different conditions indicated that 2 g of 1 CoB is the most active and selective to styrene at 400°C. A proposed pathway of dehydrogenation reaction suggested that new moderate acidic and basic active sites are created due to complex immobilization, which are responsible for abstracting α and β hydrogen of ethyl group producing styrene. The prepared catalyst samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.