MoO3 Nanoclusters Decorated on TiO2 Nanorods for Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene

- A novel hybrid material composed of highly dispersed MoO3 nanoclusters on TiO2 nanorods was reported.
- Ultrathin freestanding TiO2 nanorods are 80-150 nm in diameter and length between 1 and 1.5 μm.
- The MoO3 nanoclusters species supported TiO2 nanorods can activate the CH bond of ethane to produce ethylene.
- These hybrid nanostructure catalysts exhibited excellent ODH for the conversion of ethane to ethylene with an ethylene yield of 50.7%.
- This high yield could replace the existing natural gas or naphtha cracker to produce ethylene.

Preparation of metal oxide supported nanostructure appears to be interesting and challenging because of the well-defined morphology and highly accessible active sites responsible for catalysis. Here we present an easy approach to synthesize a novel hybrid material composed of highly dispersed MoO3 nanoclusters on TiO2 nanorods of diameter 80-150 nm and length between 1-1.5 μm. These hybrid nanostructure catalysts exhibited excellent oxidative dehydrogenation activity for the conversion of ethane to ethylene with an ethylene yield of 50.7% in the presence of O2. The result shows markedly high synergy between the surface Mo+6 and ultrathin TiO2 nanorods, which selectively activates the CH bond of ethane for the production of ethylene.

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