Facile Synthesis of Pure Monoclinic and Tetragonal Zirconia Nanoparticles and Their Phase Effects on the Behavior of Supported Molybdena Catalysts for Methanol-Selective Oxidation

Pure monoclinic (m) and tetragonal (t) zirconia nanoparticles were readily synthesized from the reaction of inorganic zirconium salts (e.g., hydrated zirconyl nitrate) and urea in water and methanol, respectively, via a facile solvothermal method. The role of the solvents was crucial in the formation of the pure ZrO(2) phases, whereas their purity was essentially insensitive to other variables, including reaction temperature, reactant concentration, pH, and zirconium salts. Water as the solvent led to the transformation of hydrous ZrO(2) precipitates initially formed with tetragonal structures to thermodynamically more stable m-ZrO(2) via the dissolution-precipitation process, whereas methanol favored the removal of water molecules from the precursors via their reaction with urea, consequently maintaining the tetragonal structures. The obtained tetragonal samples were found to possess superior hydrothermal stability compared to those reported previously, which provides the possibility for systematically studying the effects of ZrO(2) phases on many catalytic reactions involving water as a reactant or product. Using these pure m- and t-ZrO(2) phases as supports, dispersed MoO(x) catalysts were synthesized at MoO(x) surface densities of approximately 5.0 Mo/nm(2), which is close to one monolayer of coverage. Characterization by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy confirmed that the pure ZrO(2) phases remained unchanged in the presence of the MoO(x) domains and the MoO(x) domains existed preferentially as 2D polymolybdate structures. The catalysts were subsequently examined for selective methanol oxidation as a test reaction. m-ZrO(2) support led to 2-fold greater oxidation rates than for t-ZrO(2) support, reflecting the higher intrinsic reactivity of the MoO(x) domains on m-ZrO(2). This is consistent with their higher reducibility probed by temperature-programmed reduction with H(2) (H(2) TPR). These observed effects of the ZrO(2) phases provide the basis for designing catalysts with tunable redox properties and reactivity.