Active component of supported vanadium catalysts in the selective oxidation of methanol

The structure of catalysts based on vanadium oxide supported on different oxides (SiO2, γ-Al2O3, ZrO2, and TiO2) was investigated. Their catalytic properties in the selective oxidation of methanol in a temperature range of 100–250°C were studied. It was shown that the nature of the support determines the structure of the oxide forms of vanadium. The supporting of vanadium on SiO2 and γ-Al2O3 leads to the preferred formation of crystalline V2O5; the surface monomeric and polymeric forms of VO x are additionally formed on ZrO2 and TiO2. It was established that the crystalline V2O5 oxide is least active in the selective oxidation of methanol; the polymeric forms are more active than monomeric ones. The mechanism of the selective oxidation of methanol to dimethoxymethane and methyl formate on the vanadium oxide catalysts is considered.