Molybdenum oxide model catalysts and vanadium phosphates as actual catalysts for understanding heterogeneous catalytic partial oxidation reactions: A contribution by Jean-Claude Volta

This review summarises and expands part of the work that Jean Claude Volta carried out during his scientific career at the Institut de Recherches sur la Catalyse (IRC), CNRS, University of Lyon in France. The first part deals with the structure sensitivity of molybdenum oxide (MoO3) for oxidation reactions. The second part concerns the development of vanadium phosphate catalysts for butane oxidation which encompasses intensive studies of catalyst preparation, activation, and characterisation, including some of the first real in situ studies of a complex oxide catalytic system. J.-C. Volta was one the first scientists to develop real in situ studies with on-line GC analysis of the reactants and products under working conditions and their simultaneous characterisation by Raman spectroscopy. He also developed the spin-echo mapping technique for determining the oxidation state of V through the chemical shift of 31P NMR peak and used this to help unravel the complexity of transformations in VPO materials during preparation, activation and reaction allowing him to make meaningful structure–activity relationships. He contributed extensively to our understanding of how selective oxidation heterogeneous catalysts function.

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