Phosphated ceria, selective catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutane

The oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of isobutane over pure ceria and phosphated ceria catalysts, containing two different amounts of phosphorus, was examined at temperatures ranging from 450 to 610 °C. The catalysts were characterized using nitrogen adsorption, DRX, SEM, EDX, XPS and TPR techniques. Adding phosphorus to ceria and increasing the phosphorus content results in a modification of the physicochemical characteristics of the catalyst, the redox ability of the catalytic material being strongly diminished. At the same time, by adding phosphorus to ceria and increasing the phosphorus content, a decrease of the catalytic activity accompanied by an important increase of the selectivity for isobutene, mainly at the expense of carbon oxides, was observed. A compensation effect in catalysis was also observed for the isobutane conversion on this series of catalysts.