Cross metathesis of butene-2 and ethene to propene over Mo/MCM-22-Al2O3 catalysts with different Al2O3 contents

A series of 3.0Mo/MCM-22-Al2O3 catalysts with γ-Al2O3 contents in the range of 0-100 wt% were prepared and applied in the metathesis reaction of ethene and butene-2. Addition of γ-Al2O3 did not affect the structure of MCM-22 zeolite as evidenced by XRD and N2 adsorption measurements. It was deduced from TPR experiments that γ-Al2O3 phase favored the formation of polymolybdate or multilayered Mo oxide, while more Al2(MoO4)3 species were generated over MCM-22 zeolites. Alumina content in the support was directly related to the metathesis activity of ethene and butene-2 to propene. Mo species with higher valence (Mo6+ or Mo5+) contributed more to the excellent performance of catalyst than metallic Mo. The best catalyst activity and stability was obtained over 3.0Mo/(MCM-22-30%Al2O3) under the reaction condition of 1.0 MPa and 125 γC using N2 as the pretreatment gas.