Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane over MoOx and POx Supported on Carbon Nanotube Catalysts

Abstract Catalytic performance of MoO x –PO x supported on oxidized carbon nanotube (oCNT) catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane has been investigated. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, TEM, and IR spectroscopy techniques and then tested through the propane oxidation dehydrogenation reaction. The results reveal that the addition of MoO x significantly improves the catalytic activity but reduces the selectivity to propene. In contrast, adding PO x decreases the reactivity and increases the selectivity by suppressing the combustion reaction. Adding both PO x and MoO x can improve the selectivity at the same conversion rate and thus increase the yield of the catalyst. As compared to MoO x /oCNTs, the stability of the MoO x –PO x /oCNT catalyst is significantly improved. This is because the addition of PO x can promote MoO x dispersion on the CNT surface and hence improve the catalytic performance.