Selective Oxidation of Hydrocarbons on Composite Oxides

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Abstract
A catalyst for the selective oxidation of hydrocarbons to unsaturated aldehydes, acids, acid anhydrides, divinyls, or styrenes has to perform several functions. First, it must supply a limited amount of oxygen to the reactant, sufficient to allow the formation of the desired product but not enough to allow complete oxidation. Further, it must provide appropriate sites for the adsorption of the hydrocarbons in deformed, reactive states. Last, the catalyst should be capable of transferring electrons from and to the reactants. These three demanding characteristics of an active catalyst impose severe limitations on the systems that can effectively perform selective oxidation reactions. Therefore catalyst selectivity, normally measured by the rate of formation of the specific product relative to that of undesired products, is sensitive to reaction conditions (temperature, feed rate, feed composition, and reactor design) and is very dependent on the details of the structure of the catalyst itself, its carriers, and promoters.