Present State of Ideas on the Mechanism of Catalytic Hydrocarbon Oxidation

A large amount of research has recently been devoted to oxidative conversions of hydrocarbons, and many laboratories in various countries are concerned with this problem. This field of catalysis has been extensively studied. The new, particularly spectroscopic, experimental methods provide additional information on the structures of surface compounds formed by interactions of various reactants with the catalyst. The very sensitive chromatographic technique has made possible the detection of multiple oxygen compounds yielded by oxidation of hydrocarbons of various structure so that the possibility of various conversion paths has become evident. Many schemes for the catalytic oxidation of hydrocarbons, particularly of olefins and aromatics, have been proposed. Considerably less extensive was the research on the oxidation of alkanes.