Mixed-oxide catalysts with vanadium as the key element for gas-phase reactions

• Vanadium is a key component in several industrial mixed oxide catalysts.
• Main use of catalysts containing vanadium is for gas-phase oxidation.
• Vanadium is also a component in bi-functional catalysts.
• Industrial processes with V catalysts are the oxidation of acrolein and n-butane.
• New potential applications are propane ammoxidation and glycerol oxidehydration.

This review deals with an analysis of the main structural and reactivity properties of mixed oxide systems containing vanadium oxide as the key component in catalysts for gas-phase reactions, mainly oxidations. Particular focus is placed on catalysts showing intrinsic bi-functional properties, where the combination of both acidic/basic properties and redox V-sites is a requisite for achieving optimal catalytic performance. For the selected catalytic systems, structure–reactivity correlations that have been proposed in many decades of literature were analysed, with the aim of shedding light on the molecular-level aspects of current processes and facilitating a more rational design of future catalysts.

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