Catalytic property of vanadyl pyrophosphates for selective oxidation of n-butane at high n-butane concentrations Original Research Article

Selective oxidation of n-butane to maleic anhydride was studied at high concentrations of n-butane up to 5.0 vol.% using three kinds of (VO)2P2O7 catalysts having differently shaped microcrystallites; rose-petals (catalyst A), plates (catalyst B), and blocks (catalyst C). The catalytic activity for maleic anhydride formation per unit surface area greatly depended on the kinds of catalysts at the high concentration of n-butane (5.0 vol.%); catalyst A was much more active, while there was no difference at the low concentrations. That catalyst A gave higher rates of the re-oxidation and reduction, which was established from the measurements of reduction of the catalyst, aged in the reaction mixture, with n-butane and subsequently re-oxidation with O2. In addition, catalyst A showed a larger reaction order of n-butane concentration. Therefore, the higher catalytic performance of catalyst A at the high concentration of n-butane is attributed to the higher redox ability of the catalyst, and this is probably brought about from the structural disorder of the surface.