Influence of molybdena on the dispersion and activity of vanadia in V2O5/γ-Al2O3 catalysts

The influence of molybdenum oxide on the dispersion and activity of vanadium oxide supported on alumina was investigated. A series of MoO₃ catalysts were prepared using monolayer V₂O₅/-Al₂O₃ catalysts by impregnation method. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction and oxygen chemisorption at –78 °C. The catalytic properties were evaluated for the vapour-phase oxidation of methanol. The addition of MoO₃ to V₂O₅/-Al₂O₃ results in the decrease of dispersion of vanadia and also the activity for the oxidation reaction. However, the selectivity of formaldehyde was found to increase with MoO₃ loading indicating that MoO₃ created additional sites for partial oxidation reaction.IICT Communication No. 2211.