kinetics of the oxidation of b-picoline to nicotinic acid over vanadia-titania catalyst, 1. The network of the reaction and the effect of water

Over vanadia-titania catalysts, the oxidation of β-picoline into nicotinic acid proceeds under a parallel-consecutive network. Nicotinic acid is formed both directly from picoline and through pyridine-3-carbaldehyde as an intermediate. Products of total oxidation and nitrile are formed on a parallel path from picoline, and on a consecutive path via overoxidation of partial oxidation products. Introduction of water into the reaction mixture raises selectivity and activity due to an acceleration of the formation of carbaldehyde and nicotinic acid and not due to repressing the reactions of total oxidation. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.