Propane-to-propene oxide oxidation on silica-supported vanadium catalysts with N2O as an oxidant

•Propane-to-propene oxide oxidation on vanadium catalysts with N2O as an oxidant.•Vanadium reduction is responsible for catalyst deactivation in propane ODH reaction.•FTIR spectroscopy was used to study the surface species involved in propane oxidation.•Reaction paths of the selective oxidation of propane have been proposed.

Propane-to-propene oxide oxidation was carried out at 673 and 703 K and for different contact times on vanadium catalyst supported on mesoporous silica of SBA-3 structure in the presence of N2O as an oxidant. For comparison, direct propene epoxidation was also investigated. Vanadium catalysts for propane oxidation undergo deactivation with time on stream. It was noted that the higher the reaction temperature the faster the deactivation. The very small amount of coke deposit in the spent catalyst would indicate that the vanadium reduction is responsible for catalyst deactivation. FT-IR spectroscopy was used to study the adsorbed surface species involved in the selective propane oxidation. Considering the alteration of selectivity toward oxygen-bearing products with propane/propene conversion influenced by reaction temperature and contact time, some tentative reaction paths for the selective oxidation of propane have been proposed.

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