A study on VPO specimen supported on aluminum-containing MCM-41 for partial oxidation of n-butane to MA

Dispersed vanadium-phosphorus oxide species supported on Al-MCM-41 with different vanadium loadings have been synthesized for the first time for the partial oxidation of butane to MA. It was found that the VPO species was dispersed over the Al-MCM-41 support material, both in the internal channel and on the external surface. With increasing vanadium loading, n-butane conversion increased but MA selectivity decreased considerably under the same reaction conditions. At lower conversions (<30%), rather high MA selectivity (ca. 70%) can be achieved on the low loading sample. Compared with the amorphous structure of large pore SiO₂ support, the unique structure of the MCM-41 and the incorporated Al³⁺ in the framework do have an impact on the reaction behavior of the supported VPO specimen. The chemical nature of the supported VPO species and the interaction between the applied VPO species and the support was found to vary notably with the content of vanadium in the sample and likewise affected the related physico-chemical characteristics and their reaction behaviors.