Partial oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde and benzoic acid over model vanadia/titania catalysts: role of vanadia species

Pure and K-doped vanadia/titania prepared by different methods have been studied in order to elucidate the role of vanadia species (monomeric, polymeric, bulk) in catalytic toluene partial oxidation. The ratio of different vanadia species was controlled by treating the catalysts in diluted HNO₃, which removes bulk vanadia and polymeric vanadia species, but not the monomeric ones, as was shown by FT-Raman spectroscopy and TPR in H₂. Monolayer vanadia species (monomeric and polymeric) are responsible for the catalytic activity and selectivity to benzaldehyde and benzoic acid independently on the catalyst preparation method. Bulk V₂O₅ and TiO₂ are considerably less active. Therefore, an increase of the vanadium concentration in the samples above the monolayer coverage results in a decrease of the specific rate in toluene oxidation due to the partial blockage of active monolayer species by bulk crystalline V₂O₅. Potassium diminishes the catalyst acidity resulting in a decrease of the total rate of toluene oxidation and suppression of deactivation. Deactivation due to coking is probably related to the Brønsted acid sites associated with the bridging oxygen in the polymeric species and bulk V₂O₅. Doping by K diminishes the amount of active monolayer vanadia leading to the formation of non-active K-doped monomeric vanadia species and KVO₃.     

Vanadia–silica aerogels. Structure and catalytic properties in selective reductionof NO by NH3

Vanadia-silica aerogels, containing 10 to 30 wt% V₂O₅, and a xerogel were prepared from vanadium(V) oxide triisopropoxide and vanadium (III) acetylacetonate (V(III)_acac) precursors using the solution-sol-gel method and different drying processes, including conventional evaporative and high-temperature and low-temperature supercritical drying. The behavior of these mixed oxides in the selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH₃ was tested and compared to that of other vanadia-silica and vanadia-titania catalysts. The structural and catalytic properties of the sol-gel derived vanadia-silica mixed oxides were found to be mainly influenced by the drying method, the vanadia content and the vanadia precursor used. For a particular vanadia content (10 wt%), low-temperature supercritical drying and evaporative drying resulted in significantly higher vanadia dispersion than high-temperature supercritical drying, which led to crystalline V₂O₅. Turnover frequencies for SCR at temperatures T < 475K were highest for low-temperature aerogels containing well-dispersed vanadium oxide species. Exposing these catalysts to higher temperatures under SCR conditions resulted in agglomeration/redispersion phenomena and at temperatures T > 550K best catalytic behavior was observed with vanadia-silica mixed oxides for which Raman spectroscopy indicated the presence of crystalline V₂O₅, as was the case for aerogels obtained by high-temperature supercritical drying and the low-temperature aerogel with the highest vanadia content (30 wt%).     

Reactivity of V2O5&z.sbnd;WO3TiO2 de-NOx catalysts by transient methods

The reactivity of ternary V₂O₅&z.sbnd;WO₃TiO₂ de-NO_xing catalysts with compositions similar to those of commercial catalysts (WO₃ ca. 9% w/w, V₂O₅ < 2% w/w) is investigated by transient techniques (temperature programmed desorption, TPD; temperature programmed surface reaction, TPSR; and temperature programmed reaction, TPR). The results indicate that the reactivity of the ternary catalysts in the SCR reaction increases on increasing the vanadia loading, and that the ternary catalysts are more active than the corresponding binary vanadia-titania samples with the same V₂O₅ loading. Indeed the SCR reaction is monitored at lower temperatures and high NO conversions are also preserved at high temperatures. TPSR and TPR data show that at low temperatures the SCR reaction occurs via a redox mechanism that involves at first the participation of the catalyst lattice oxygen and then the reoxidation of the reduced sites by gas-phase oxygen. Based on TPSR and TPR data, the higher reactivity of the ternary catalysts has been related to their superior redox properties, in line with previous chemico-physical characterisation studies. The catalyst redox properties thus appear as a key-factor in controlling the reactivity of V₂O₅&z.sbnd;WO₃TiO₂ de-NO_xing catalysts at low temperatures. The results also show that at high temperatures the surface acidity plays an important role in the adsorption and activation of ammonia.     

Ammoxidation of 3-picoline over V2O5/TiO2 (anatase) system I. Relationship between ammoxidation activity and oxidation state of vanadium

A series of titania (anatase)-supported vanadia catalysts ranging in V₂O₅ content from 0.4 to 9.9 mol% was prepared by wet impregnation technique, characterized by BET surface area measurement and X-ray diffraction, and evaluated for ammoxidation of 3-picoline. The average oxidation number of vanadium in the fresh and used catalysts was determined by titrimetric methods. The ammoxidation activity and the average oxidation number were observed to increase with vanadia loading up to 3.4 mol% in the catalyst which corresponds to a monolayer coverage. The phase transformation of anatase to rutile after the reaction was observed at a V₂O₅ loading of 5.9 mol%. The slow decrease of ammoxidation activity beyond 3.4 mol% V₂O₅ was attributed to the coverage of active monomeric VO_x species on the support by bulk vanadia and by other oxides, and also to compound formation with ammonia.     

Selective oxidation of hydrogen sulfide containing excess water and ammonia over vanadia–titania aerogel catalysts

A series of V₂O₅–TiO₂ aerogel catalysts were prepared by sol–gel method with subsequent supercritical drying with CO₂. The aerogel catalysts showed much higher surface areas and total pore volumes than V₂O₅–TiO₂ xerogel and impregnated V₂O₅–TiO₂ catalysts. Two species of surface vanadium in the aerogel catalysts were identified by Raman measurements: monomeric vanadyl and polymeric vanadates. The selective oxidation of hydrogen sulfide in the presence of excess water and ammonia was studied over these catalysts. Aerogel catalysts showed very high conversion of H₂S without harmful emission of SO₂. Temperature programmed reduction (TPR), XRD and Raman analyses revealed that the high catalytic performance of the aerogel catalysts originated from their highly dispersed VO_x species and high reducibility.     

Characterization by temperature programmed reduction

Fresh and used EUROCAT Oxide-2 catalyst made up of V₂O₅, WO₃ and TiO₂ with SiO₂, Al₂O₃ and CaO as main additives have been studied by means of temperature programmed reduction (TPR). As in the EUROCAT Oxide-1 project (V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalysts) for similar conditions similar profiles were obtained in the different laboratories. In contrast to the V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalysts (EUROCAT Oxide-1 project), where the vanadia content could be determined by TPR with reasonable reliability, the exact determination of the vanadia and tungsta loading for the ternary catalysts is not possible because of the occurrence of several superimposed phenomena (reduction of vanadia, tungsta and titania and formation/reduction of CaWO₄, reactions are not completed at maximal temperature reached), which are not discernible by TPR.     

Oxidative dehydrogenation of propane over vanadium oxide based catalysts Effect of support and alkali promoter

The oxidative dehydrogenation of propane was investigated using vanadia type catalysts supported on Al₂O₃, TiO₂, ZrO₂ and MgO. The promotion of V₂O₅/Al₂O₃ catalyst with alkali metals (Li, Na, K) was also attempted. Evaluation of temperature programmed reduction patterns showed that the reducibility of V species is affected by the support acid–base character. The catalytic activity is favored by the V reducibility of the catalyst as it was confirmed from runs conducted at 450–550°C. V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst exhibits the highest activity in oxydehydrogenation of propane. The support’s nature also affects the selectivity to propene; V₂O₅ supported on Al₂O₃ catalyst exhibits the highest selectivity. Reaction studies showed that addition of alkali metals decreases the catalytic activity in the order non-doped>Li>Na>K. Propene selectivity significantly increases in the presence of doped catalysts.     

V2O5 catalysts supported on Al2O3–SiO2 mixed oxide: V, H MAS solid-state NMR, DRIFTS and methanol oxidation studies

Alumina–silica mixed oxide, synthesized by the sol–gel technique, was used as a support for dispersing and stabilizing the active vanadia phase. The catalysts were characterized employing ⁵¹V and ¹H solid-state MAS NMR, diffuse reflectance FT-IR, BET surface area measurements. The partial oxidation activities of the catalysts were tested using methanol oxidation as a model reaction. ⁵¹V solid-state NMR studies on the calcined catalysts showed the peaks corresponding to the presence of both tetrahedral and distorted octahedral vanadia species at low vanadia loadings and with an increase in V₂O₅ content, the ⁵¹V chemical shifts corresponding to amorphous V₂O₅ like phases were observed. DRIFTS studies of the catalysts indicated the vibrations corresponding tetrahedral vanadia species at low and medium loadings and at high V₂O₅ contents the vibrations corresponding V=O bonds of V₂O₅ agglomerates were observed. The V/Al–Si catalysts exhibited high selectivity for the dehydration product dimethyl ether in the methanol partial oxidation studies showing the predominance of the acidic nature of the alumina–silica support over the redox properties of the active vanadia phase.     

Characteristics of V2O5 supported on sulfated TiO2 for selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH3

V₂O₅ supported on sulfated TiO₂ catalyst was investigated by using Raman and infrared spectroscopies to examine the surface structure of vanadia and the hydroxyl groups of titania along with the sulfate species on the catalyst surface. The surface structure of vanadia plays a critical role, particularly for the reduction of NO by NH₃. The polymeric vanadate species on the catalyst surface is the active reaction site for this reaction system. The surface sulfate species enhanced the formation of the polymeric vanadate by reducing the available surface area of the catalyst. The formation of the polymeric vanadate species on the catalyst surface also depends on the number of hydroxyl groups on the support. Both the sulfate and the vanadate species strongly interacted with the hydroxyl groups on titania. The fewer the number of the hydroxyl sites on the catalyst surface became by increasing the calcination temperatures, the more the polymeric vanadate species formed. A model was proposed to elucidate the progressive alteration of the surface structure of vanadia by the amounts of V₂O₅ loadings and the sulfate species on the catalyst surface.     

Factors controlling the selectivity of V2O5 supported catalysts in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane

The surface properties of a series of V₂O₅ catalysts supported on different oxides (Al₂O₃, H–Na/Y zeolite, MgO, SiO₂, TiO₂ and ZrO₂) were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and FTIR spectroscopy augmented by CO and NH₃ adsorption. In the case of the V₂O₅/SiO₂ system TEM images evidenced the presence of V₂O₅ crystallites, whereas such segregated phase was not observed for the other samples. VO_x species resulted widely spread on the surface of Al₂O₃, H–Na/Y zeolite, MgO and SiO₂, whereas on TiO₂ and ZrO₂ they are assembled in a layer covering almost completely the support. Furthermore, evidences for the presence in this layer of V–OH Brønsted acid sites close to the active centres were found. It is proposed that propene molecules primarily produced by oxydehydrogenation of propane can be adsorbed on this acid centres and then undergo an overoxidation by reaction with redox centres in the neighbourhood. This features could account for the low selectivity of V₂O₅/TiO₂ and V₂O₅/ZrO₂ catalysts.     

Molecular structure and reactivity of the group V metal oxides

The molecular structures and reactivity of the group V metal oxides (V₂O₅, Nb₂O₅ and Ta₂O₅) were compared. Their solid state structural chemistry, physical and electronic properties, number of active surface sites and their chemical reactivity properties were examined. For the bulk oxides, the solid state structural chemistry and the physical and electronic properties are well established. The number of active surface sites and the distribution of surface redox/acid sites were determined with methanol chemisorption and methanol oxidation, respectively. These studies revealed that the active surface sites present in pure V₂O₅ are primarily redox sites and the active surface sites in pure Nb₂O₅ are essentially acidic in nature. Furthermore, the surface redox sites present in pure V₂O₅ are orders of magnitude more active than the surface acid sites in pure Nb₂O₅. Consequently, the catalytic properties of bulk V₂O₅–Nb₂O₅ mixed oxides are dominated by the vanadia component. For the supported metal oxides, where the group V metal oxides are present as two-dimensional metal oxide overlayers, the structural and electronic properties are not well established in the literature. From a combination of molecular spectroscopic characterization methods (e.g., XANES, Raman, IR and UV–Vis DRS), it was possible to obtain this fundamental information. Methanol chemisorption studies demonstrated that a similar number of active surface sites are present in the supported vanadia and niobia catalyst systems. Similar to their bulk oxides, the surface vanadia species possess redox characteristics and the surface niobia species primarily possess acidic characteristics (Lewis acidity). The surface niobia species was a very sluggish redox site during oxidation reactions (e.g., methanol oxidation to formaldehyde and SO₂ oxidation to SO₃), but significantly promoted the surface vanadia redox sites for oxidation reactions that required dual surface redox and acid sites (e.g., butane oxidation to maleic anhydride and selective catalytic reduction of NO_x by NH₃ to produce N₂). These new fundamental insights are allowing for the molecular engineering of group V metal oxide catalysts (especially vanadia and niobia). In contrast, the molecular structure and reactivity properties of Ta₂O₅ catalysts are not yet established and will require significant research efforts.     

Dehydrogenation of light alkanes over oxidized diamond-supported catalysts in the presence of carbon dioxide

Oxidized diamond demonstrated excellent support for the dehydrogenation of light alkanes to alkenes in the presence of CO₂. Oxidized diamond-supported Cr₂O₃ and V₂O₅ catalysts exhibited comparatively higher catalytic activities in the dehydrogenation of lower alkanes in the presence of CO₂. In the dehydrogenation of propane, the oxidized diamond-supported Cr₂O₃ and V₂O₅ catalysts in the presence of CO₂ afforded nearly twofold higher activities than that in the absence of CO₂. The activity of the oxidized diamond-supported V₂O₅ catalyst in the dehydrogenation of propane increased with increasing reaction temperatures. Furthermore, in the dehydrogenation of n-butane and iso-butane, a promoting effect of CO₂ on butane conversion and butenes yields was observed over the oxidized diamond-supported Cr₂O₃ and V₂O₅ catalysts, though the promotion effect was small.

UV-Vis analyses of the fresh and the reacted catalysts in the presence and absence of CO₂ revealed that CO₂ kept the surface V₂O₅ and Cr₂O₃ in a state of oxidation slightly higher than that in the absence of CO₂.     

Vanadium oxide supported on mesoporous Al2O3: Preparation, characterization and reactivity

The application of different techniques (diffuse reflectance-UV–vis, ⁵¹V NMR, FT-IR of adsorbed pyridine and TPR-H₂) in the characterization of vanadia supported on mesoporous Al₂O₃ catalysts shows that the nature of the vanadium species depends on the V-loading. At V-content lower than 15 wt.% of V-atoms (30% of the theoretical monolayer), vanadium is mainly in a tetrahedral environment. Higher V-contents in the catalyst leads to the formation of octahedral V⁵⁺ species and V₂O₅-like species. Both XRD and textural results indicate that the mesoporous structure of the support is mostly maintained after the vanadium incorporation, and therefore high surface areas were obtained on the final catalysts. Al₂O₃-suppported vanadia catalysts are active and selective in the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane, although the catalytic behavior depends on the V-loading. High rates of formation of ethylene per unit mass of catalyst per unit time have also been observed as a consequence of the high dispersion of V-atoms on the surface of the support.     

Surface characteristics and activity in selective oxidation of o-xylene of supported V2O5 catalysts prepared by standard impregnation and atomic layer deposition

Alumina-, silica-, and titania-supported vanadium oxide systems with V₂O₅ loadings ranging from 3 to 12 wt.%, corresponding to 0.02–0.09 V/(Al,Si,Ti) atomic ratios, were prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and compared with the corresponding impregnated catalysts. The surface acidic properties of the supports and catalysts were investigated using ammonia adsorption microcalorimetry to determine the number and strength of the surface acid sites. Deposition of V₂O₅ on alumina and titania supports gave rise to catalysts with lower amounts of acid sites than the respective supports, while for the samples prepared on silica, an increase of the number of acid sites was observed after V₂O₅ deposition. As a common trend, the surface acid strength was greater for the ALD catalysts than for the impregnated ones, suggesting a stronger interaction of the VO species with the support centers, which act as electron attractor centers creating Lewis-like vanadium species. Redox cycles were performed, involving temperature programmed reduction (TPR) analyses separated by an oxidation treatment (TPO). The results evidenced the good reversibility of the redox behavior of the vanadium centers in every case, while significant differences were observed when comparing the temperatures of reduction (T_max). Lower T_max values were observed for the better dispersed vanadia catalysts. After reduction, the V centers had a final formal average oxidation state corresponding to +3 or less (+2.5 to +2). The reactivity of the vanadia systems was examined by measuring their performance for the oxidation of o-xylene to phthalic anhydride. Activity tests indicated the superior selectivity of the V₂O₅ systems based on the more acidic supports (Al₂O₃ and TiO₂). The nature of the support governed the activity, and the more concentrated catalysts gave rise to improved selectivity to phthalic anhydride.     

V_2O_5-WO_3/TiO_2催化剂的制备及其烟气脱硝性能

以活性成分负载量、负载顺序和焙烧温度等关键制备参数因素进行正交实验设计制备了V_2O_5-WO_3/TiO_2催化剂,对其进行XRD和TPR表征,并在自行设计搭建的SCR烟气脱硝实验平台上评价其(300~390)℃的SCR脱硝性能。结果表明,活性成分钒和钨绝大多数以非晶态形式存在于载体表面,且具有良好的分散性;主要活性成分V_2O_5负载量越高,脱硝率越高;400℃焙烧温度可以形成催化反应所需的晶相,且维持催化剂较高的比表面积;催化剂低温活性和高温活性是由表面富集和各种成分之间相互作用共同产生的结果,活性组分与载体之间的相互作用对315℃低温脱硝活性影响明显,以先钒后钨负载顺序为宜,表面富集对390℃高温脱硝活性起主要作用,以钒钨同时负载或先钒后钨负载顺序较好;随着m(WO_3)∶m(V_2O_5)的增加,在7.5∶1处催化剂的脱硝率升至最高,随后迅速下降,WO_3负载质量分数以6%为宜。在优化条件V_2O_5负载质量分数0.8%、WO_3负载质量分数6%、先钒后钨负载和400℃焙烧温度下制备了催化剂并进行脱硝性能验证,315℃低温脱硝活性达到69.56%。     

The effect of the nature of vanadium species on benzene total oxidation

The nature of the vanadium species present on V₂O₅/Al₂O₃ catalysts was investigated by using solid state ⁵¹V NMR, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature programmed reduction (TPR). ⁵¹V NMR and DRS analyses indicated the presence of V⁵⁺ in tetrahedral symmetry at low vanadium loading. A surface polymeric vanadium species and/or the bulk crystalline V₂O₅ were mainly observed at high vanadium loading as also detected by XRD. The positions of the absorption edges determined through the UV–VIS spectra allowed distinguishing between various tetrahedral symmetries. After TPR, the average oxidation state of vanadium depended on the vanadium content. The nature of vanadium species was related to the catalyst behavior on the benzene oxidation reaction. The catalysts containing high vanadium content were more active suggesting that a high amount of V⁴⁺ is responsible for the higher activity.     

SO2 resistant antimony promoted V2O5/TiO2 catalyst for NH3-SCR of NOx at low temperatures

To get the low temperature sulfur resistant V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalysts quantum chemical calculation study was carried out. After selecting suitable promoters (Se, Sb, Cu, S, B, Bi, Pb and P), respective metal promoted V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalysts were prepared by impregnation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Brunner Emmett Teller surface area (BET-SA). Se, Sb, Cu, S promoted V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalysts showed high catalytic activity for NH₃ selective catalytic reduction (NH₃-SCR) of NO_x carried at temperatures between 150 and 400 °C. The conversion efficiency followed in the order of Se > Sb > S > V₂O₅/TiO₂ > Cu but Se was excluded because of its high vapor pressure. An optimal 2 wt% ‘Sb’ loading was found over V₂O₅/TiO₂ for maximum NO_x conversion, which also showed high resistance to SO₂ in presence of water when compared to other metal promoters. In situ electrical conductivity measurement was carried out for Sb(2%)/V₂O₅/TiO₂ and compared with commercial W(10%)V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst. High electrical conductivity difference (ΔG) for Sb(2%)/V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst with temperature was observed. SO₂ deactivation experiments were carried out for Sb(2%)/V₂O₅/TiO₂ and W(10%)/V₂O₅/TiO₂ at a temperature of 230 °C for 90 h, resulted Sb(2%)/V₂O₅/TiO₂ was efficient catalyst. BET-SA, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur (CHNS) elemental analysis of spent catalysts well proved the presence of high ammonium sulfate salts over W(10%)/V₂O₅/TiO₂ than Sb(2%)/V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst.     

Reactivity of V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalysts in the selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide by ammonia

The physico-chemical characteristics and the reactivity of sub-monolayer V₂O₅-WO₃/TiO₂ deNO_x catalysts is investigated in this work by EPR, FT-IR and reactivity tests under transient conditions. EPR indicates that tetravalent vanadium ions both in magnetically isolated form and in clustered, magnetically interacting form are present over the TiO₂ surface. The presence of tungsten oxide stabilizes the surface V^IV and modifies the redox properties of V₂O₅/TiO₂ samples. Ammonia adsorbs on the catalysts surface in the form of molecularly coordinated species and of ammonium ions. Upon heating, activation of ammonia via an amide species is apparent. V₂O₅-WO₃/TiO₂ catalysts exhibits higher activity than the binary V₂O₅/TiO₂ and WO₃/TiO₂ reference sample. This is related to both higher redox properties and higher surface acidity of the ternary catalysts. Results suggest that the catalyst redox properties control the reactivity of the samples at low temperatures whereas the surface acidity plays an important role in the adsorption and activation of ammonia at high temperatures.     

Vanadia/titania catalysts for gas phase partial toluene oxidation: Spectroscopic characterisation and transient kinetics study

Formation of vanadia species during the calcination of ball milled mixture of V₂O₅ with TiO₂ was studied by Raman spectroscopy in situ and at ambient conditions. It is found that calcination in air leads to fast (1–3 h) spreading of vanadia over TiO₂ followed by a slower process leading to the formation of a monolayer vanadia. The calcinated catalyst showed higher activity during toluene oxidation than the uncalcinated one, but the selectivity towards C₇-oxygenated products (benzaldehyde and benzoic acid) remains unchanged. The activity of the catalysts is ascribed to the formation of vanadia species in the monolayer. The details of the parallel–consecutive reaction scheme of toluene oxidation are presented from steady-state and transient kinetics studies. Different oxygen species seem to participate in the deep and partial oxidation of toluene. Coke formation was observed during the reaction presenting an average composition C_2nH_1.1n. The amount of coke on the catalyst was not dependent on the calcination step and the vanadium content in the catalyst. Coke formation was seen to be responsible for the deactivation of the catalyst.     

Low temperature SCR of NO with NH3 over carbon nanotubes supported vanadium oxides

A novel multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNTs) supported vanadium catalyst was prepared. The structure of catalyst prepared was characterized by TEM, BET, FTIR, XRD and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) methods. The results indicated that vanadium particles were highly dispersed on the wall of carbon nanotubes. The V₂O₅/CNT catalysts showed good activities in the SCR of NO with a temperature range of 373–523 K. The Lewis acid sites on the surface of V₂O₅/CNT are the active sites for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with NH₃ at low temperatures. It was suggested that the reaction path might involve the adsorbed NH₃ species reacted with NO from gaseous phase and as well as the adsorbed NO₂ species. The diameter of CNTs showed positive effect on the activities of the catalysts. Under the reaction conditions of 463 K, 0.1 Mpa, NH₃/NO = 1, GHSV = 35,000 h⁻¹, and V₂O₅ loading of 2.35 wt%, the outer diameter of CNTs of 60–100 nm, the NO conversion was 92%.