Nanocomposite catalysts of non-purified MoVNbTeOx with CeO2 or TiO2 for oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane

Abstract

The phase-pure M1 of MoVNbTeOx has been demonstrated as a highly active catalyst for oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (ODHE) reaction. However, the MoVNbTeOx without further purification shows poor catalytic performance so that the M2 phase has to be removed from the bulk material to approach the high purity of M1 phase. This work presents new discovery that the nanocomposite catalyst by adding CeO2 to the MoVNbTeOx using sol–gel method can effectively promote its catalytic performance. As a comparison, the sample combining TiO2 and MoVNbTeOx is also prepared which presents limited influence. The characterization results show that the enhanced catalyst performance can be attributed to the increased active species at the catalyst surface due to the addition of CeO2. This work would provide a new solution to greatly simplify the preparation procedure of MoVNbTeOx catalysts for the ODHE process and avoid the mass loss during the purification procedure.