Selective oxidation of isobutane over hydrothermally synthesized Mo–V–Te–Sb–O mixed oxide catalysts

A series of MoV0.3Te0.25Sbx (x = 0–0.6) mixed oxide catalysts have been hydrothermally prepared and tested for the partial oxidation of isobutane. XRD results show that a new crystalline phase TeMO (M = Mo, V and Sb) structurally similar to the structure of Te3Mo2V2O17 is formed by incorporation of Sb ions into the Mo–V–Te-based system. Catalytic tests show that very high selectivity to methacrolein (48.6%) can be obtained at 15.1% of isobutane conversion at 390 °C over a hydrothermally synthesized MoV0.3Te0.23Sb0.5 catalyst.