Effect of redox properties on selective oxidation of propane to acrolein over molybdate-based catalyst

The Ag 0 3 MoP 0 6 O x and Ce 0 1 Ag 0 3 MoP 0 6 O y catalysts were prepared and characterized by XRD, TPR, LRS, XPS and EPR techniques. And the catalytic performance of the catalysts for selective oxidation of propane to acrolein was studied. The results showed that the higher propane conversion with higher selectivity for acrolein was obtained on Ce 0 1 Ag 0 3 MoP 0 6 O y catalyst. In addition, the possible intermediates, propene and propanol, were favorable for the transformation to acrolein on Ce 0 1 Ag 0 3 MoP 0 6 O y catalyst. After Ce was doped in Ag 0 3 MoP 0 6 O x , the CeO 2 and Ce 2MoO 6 could be measured. The addition of Ce to Ag 0 3 MoP 0 6 O x improved the reducibility and the concentration of Mo 5+ owing to the formation of redox couple Mo 6+ +Ce 3+ Mo 5+ +Ce 4+ , leading to the higher propane conversion and the higher selectivity for acrolein.