Synthesis of Vanadium Catalysts Supported on Cerium Containing TiO2 Nanotubes for the Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane

Cerium containing TiO2 nanotubes (CeTNTs) were successfully synthesized through the hydrothermal method and applied as support for vanadium catalyst in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane. The impregnation method was employed to load 2, 5 and 8 wt % vanadium on the CeTNT surface. The catalysts were labeled as xV/CeTNT which x refers to the amount of vanadium loading. For a comparison, pure TNT was also synthesized and impregnated with 5 wt % vanadium. Based on TGA, XRD and TEM analyses, it was concluded that the addition of Ce increased the thermal stability of TNT. The Raman results showed that the 5V/CeTNT sample with a higher surface area hosted a higher number of monomeric VOx species compared to 5V/TNT. On the other hand, it was shown that the population of monomeric VOx species decreased as the vanadium loading increased. Catalytic results showed that propane conversion increased while propylene selectivity decreased as the vanadium loading increased. The best catalytic performance belonged to the 5V/CeTNT sample with propylene yield of about 10.6 wt % at the reaction temperature of 500°C.