Catalytic
hydrodechlorination is a promising strategy for treating
industrial 1,2-dichloroethane wastes, for which Pt and Pt-based alloy
catalysts are widely used. Here, we performed a detailed mechanistic
study for 1,2-dichloroethane hydrodechlorination on Pt using a synergistic
approach combining density functional theory (DFT) calculations, reaction
kinetics experiments, and microkinetic modeling. Using planewave DFT
calculations, we evaluated the reaction energy and activation energy
barrier of each elementary step involved in the reaction network on
Pt(111). The calculated energetics were then incorporated into a comprehensive
mean-field microkinetic model accounting for a total of 65 elementary
steps. The model-predicted reaction rates were compared with the results
from our reaction kinetics experiments on SiO2-supported
Pt catalysts. Our results indicated that the hydrodechlorination of
1,2-dichloroethane on Pt(111) starts with a H-removal step; then,
it proceeds through a sequence of alternating dechlorination and dehydrogenation
steps until vinylidene (CH2C*) is formed; finally, CH2C* is hydrogenated to the final product, ethane, sequentially
via vinyl (CH2CH*), ethylene, and ethyl (CH3CH2*) intermediates. After model parameter adjustments,
we achieved good agreement between our theoretical model and experimental
results; the adjustments to the calculated parameters are consistent
with the typically anticipated coverage effects. Our study offers
valuable mechanistic insights, which are useful for improving catalysts
for this chemistry.