Ethanol gas-phase ammoxidation to acetonitrile: the reactivity of supported vanadium oxide catalysts

New insights on the gas-phase ammoxidation of ethanol to acetonitrile over supported vanadia catalysts were obtained by means of reactivity experiments (in ethanol ammoxidation and oxidation) as well as in situ Raman and DRIFT spectroscopy. It was found that the rate-determining step during the redox process depends on the support type. In the case of V2O5/ZrO2, the V oxidation state under reaction conditions is closer to V5+, whereas with V2O5/TiO2, the reduction of V5+ is faster than the re-oxidation of the corresponding reduced V species by O2; thus, the V oxidation state under steady state conditions is lower than for V2O5/ZrO2. In the latter catalyst, the more oxidized V species is responsible for ammonia activation and reaction with the intermediate acetaldehyde, leading in the end to a better acetonitrile yield than with V2O5/TiO2. It was also found that V2O5/ZrO2 is more selective to acetaldehyde than V2O5/TiO2. With the former catalyst, ethanol is able to reduce V2O5 only to a limited extent. Conversely, V2O5/TiO2 is readily reduced by ethanol but this reduced V species is responsible for an unselective oxidation of the alcohol, giving more CO and CO2.