Spectroscopic surface characterization of MoVNbTe nanostructured catalysts for the partial oxidation of propane

The main objective of the present contribution is to analyze the effect of composition, coverage and Te doping in the surface composition and catalytic behavior of supported-nanoscaled MoVNb(Te)O catalysts. Different spectroscopy techniques combine to afford such objective. The composition of the surface species has been studied by Raman and UV–Vis spectroscopies, whereas it has been performed several pyridine adsorption experiments to quantify the number of acid sites on the surface of catalysts. The nature of reaction intermediates and the capability of the samples to adsorb them have been studied by FTIR spectroscopy combined with the adsorption of propene. The results have shown that tellurium induces several changes in the structure and catalytic properties of MoVNb catalytic materials, improving the reaction yield to the desired acrylic acid during the propane oxidation reaction.

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► Different oxygenates have been identified on the surface of the nanostructures MoVNbTe catalysts under propylene and oxygen atmosphere.
► Te addition to the catalysts formulation induces the formation of mixed phases identified by Raman spectroscopy and also reduced Mo species identified by UV–Vis.
► The FTIR studies confirm that the intermediates are held on the surface of catalysts strongly in the absence of Te.