Mechanism by which Tungsten Oxide Promotes the Activity of Supported V2O5/TiO2 Catalysts for NOX Abatement: Structural Effects Revealed by 51V MAS NMR Spectroscopy

The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO_x with NH₃ to N₂ with supported V₂O₅(‐WO₃)/TiO₂ catalysts is an industrial technology used to mitigate toxic emissions. Long‐standing uncertainties in the molecular structures of surface vanadia are clarified, whereby progressive addition of vanadia to TiO₂ forms oligomeric vanadia structures and reveals a proportional relationship of SCR reaction rate to [surface VO_x concentration]², implying a 2‐site mechanism. Unreactive surface tungsta (WO₃) also promote the formation of oligomeric vanadia (V₂O₅) sites, showing that promoter incorporation enhances the SCR reaction by a structural effect generating adjacent surface sites and not from electronic effects as previously proposed. The findings outline a method to assess structural effects of promoter incorporation on catalysts and reveal both the dual‐site requirement for the SCR reaction and the important structural promotional effect that tungsten oxide offers for the SCR reaction by V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalysts.     

Surface acidity of supported vanadia catalysts

The surface acidity of SiO₂, γ-Al₂O₃ and TiO₂ supported vanadia catalysts has been studied by the microcalorimetry and infrared spectroscopy using ammonia as the probe molecule. The acidity in terms of nature, number and strength was correlated with surface structures of vanadia species in the catalysts, characterized by X-ray diffraction and UV-Vis spectroscopy. It was found that the dispersion and surface structure of vanadia species depend on the nature of supports and loading and affect strongly the surface acidity. On SiO₂, vanadium species is usually in the form of polycrystalline V₂O₅ even for the catalyst with low loading (3%) and these V₂O₅ crystallites exhibit similar amount of Brönsted and Lewis acid sites. The 25%V₂O₅/SiO₂ catalyst possesses substantial amount of V₂O₅ crystallites on the surface with the initial heat of 105 kJ mol^-1 and coverage of about 600 mmol g^-1 for ammonia adsorption. Vanadia can be well dispersed on g-Al₂O₃and TiO₂ to form isolated tetrahedral species and polymeric two-dimensional network. Addition of vanadia on γ-Al₂O₃ results in the change of acidity from that associated with g-Al₂O₃ (mainly Lewis sites) to that associated with vanadia (mainly Brönsted sites) and leads to the decreased acid strength. The 3%V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst may have the vanadia structure of incomplete polymeric two-dimensional network that possesses the Ti-O-V-OH groups at edges showing strong Brönsted acidity with the initial heat of about 140 kJ mol^-1 for ammonia adsorption. On the other hand, the 10%V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst may have well defined polymeric two-dimensional vanadia network, possessing V-O-V-OH groups that exhibit rather weak Brönsted acidity with the heat of 90 kJ mol^-1 for NH₃ adsorption. V₂O₅ crystallites are formed on the 25%V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst, which exhibit the acid properties similar to those for 25%V₂O₅ on SiO₂ and γ-Al₂O₃.     

V2O5/TiO2 Catalyst Xerogels: Method of Preparation and Characterization

This work describes a modified sol-gel method for the preparation of V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalysts. The samples have been characterized by N₂ adsorption at 77 K, X-ray Diffractometry (XRD), Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM/EDX) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). The surface area increases with the vanadia loading from 24 m² g^–1 for pure TiO₂ to 87 m² g^–1 for 9 wt% of V₂O₅. The rutile form is predominant for pure TiO₂ but becomes enriched with anatase phase when vanadia loading is increased. No crystalline V₂O₅ phase was observed in the diffractograms of the catalysts. Analysis by SEM showed heterogeneous granulation of particles with high vanadium dispersion. Two species of surface vanadium were observed by FT-IR spectroscopy: a monomeric vanadyl and polymeric vanadates. The vanadyl/vanadate ratio remains practically constant. Ethanol oxidation was used as a catalytic test in a temperature range from 350 to 560 K. The catalytic activity starts around 380 K. For the sample with 9 wt% of vanadia, the conversion of ethanol into acetaldehyde as the main product was approximately 90% at 473 K.     

Vapour phase synthesis of isobutyraldehyde from methanol and ethanol over mixed oxide supported vanadium oxide catalysts

The vapour phase synthesis of isobutyraldehyde from methanol and ethanol in one step was investigated over titania-silica, titania-alumina, titania-zirconia, titania-silica-zirconia, and magnesia supported vanadium oxide catalysts at 623 K and under normal atmospheric pressure. Among various catalysts the titania-silica binary oxide supported vanadia provided higher yields than the other single or mixed oxide supported catalysts. The high conversion and product selectivity of V₂O₅/TiO₂-SiO₂ catalyst (20 wt% V₂O₅) was related to the better dispersion of vanadium oxide over titania-silica mixed oxide support in addition to other acid-base and redox characteristics. A reaction path for the formation of isobutyraldehyde from methanol and ethanol mixtures over these catalysts was described.     

Dispersion state and catalytic properties of vanadia species on the surface of V<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript>/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> catalysts

The dispersion state and catalytic properties of anatase-supported vanadia species are studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), laser Raman spectroscopy (LRS), H₂ temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) and the selective oxidation of o-xylene to phthalic anhydride. The almost identical values of the experimental dispersion capacity of V₂O₅ on anatase and the surface vacant sites available on the preferentially exposed (001) plane of anatase suggest that the highly dispersed vanadium cations are bonded to the vacant sites on the surface of anatase as derived by the incorporation model. When the loading amount of V₂O₅ is far below its dispersion capacity, the dispersed vanadia species might mainly consist of isolated VO_x species bridging to the surface through V-O-Ti bonds. With the increase of V₂O₅ loading the isolated vanadia species interact with their nearest neighbors (either isolated or polymerized vanadia) through bridging V-O-V at the expenses of V-O-Ti bonds, resulting in the increase of the ratio of polymerized to isolated vanadia species and the decrease of the reactivity of the associated surface oxygen anions and, consequently, although the activity increases with loading to reach a maximum value, the turn over number (TON) of the V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst decreases linearly. When the loading amount of V₂O₅ is higher than its dispersion capacity, the turn over number decreases more rapidly with the increase of V₂O₅ loading due to the formation of V₂O₅ crystallites in which the oxygen anions associated with V-O-V bonds are less reactive and only partially exposed on the surface.     

Temperature-programmed reduction of V2O5 and coprecipitated V2O5−TiO2 by hydrogen

Temperature-programmed reductions (TPR) with H₂ of both pure V₂O₅ and coprecipitated V₂O₅?TiO₂ systems with different titanium concentrations was performed. The original and the reduced samples following each TPR step were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Within the temperature range in which TPR analysis was carried out (100–600°C) the V₂O₅ phase was reduced in two or three steps, while no variation in the TiO₂ phase (anatase or rutile) was observed. In the first reduction step only superficial reduction of the oxides was detected. In the following steps, the H₂ reacted with oxygen atoms of the V=O and V?O?V bonds. This led to important changes in the structure and morphology of the system. The experimental evidence allowed the conclusion that titanium stabilizes certain phases of vanadium oxides in which vanadium appears as V(+4) or as a mixture of V(+4) and V(+5). Moreover, when moderate and high titanium concentrations were used, the reduction temperature of the bulk V₂O₅ decreased markedly.     

Facile synthesis of V<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript>/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> core–shell nanobelts

We report a facile chemical approach for the synthesis of one-dimensional V₂O₅/TiO₂ core–shell nanobelts. The coated V₂O₅ nanobelts are synthesized by a hydrothermal method which is feasible for large-scale production. V₂O₅ nanobelts coated with a thin layer of TiO₂ sol are formed before sintering, and after sintering one-dimensional V₂O₅/TiO₂ core–shell nanobelts, composed of single-crystalline V₂O₅ nanobelts cores uniformly coated with anatase TiO₂ nanoparticle shells are obtained. The influences of the synthetic parameters, such as sintering temperature and titanium/vanadium mole ratios, on the morphology of the resulting products are investigated. Interestingly, the shape of single-crystalline of V₂O₅ nanobelts is totally preserved after sintering; the morphology can be readily controlled to be smooth or rough by altering the sintering temperature of the shells and titanium/vanadium mole ratio.     

Modeling the active centers of V<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript>/SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and V<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript>/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> supported catalysts. DFT theoretical analysis of optical properties

Within the framework of the density functional theory (DFT), the electronic structure of monooxodioxovanadium functional groups in tetrahedral coordination, which model the active centers (ACs) of fine supported catalysts V₂O₅/SiO₂ and V₂O₅/TiO₂, has been analyzed. The optimal structures of three ACs as possible models of monomeric and polymeric oxovanadium forms on the carriers with low vanadium content were determined. The modified DFT method involving the time dependence of Kohn-Sham equation (TDDFT) was used for the adopted AC models to calculate the energies of the excited states, and optical spectra of the absorption in 25000–60000 cm^?1 region were reconstructed on their base. The spectrum in this region is due to O → V charge transfer. The features of electronic spectra with the charge transfer for V₂O₅/SiO₂ and V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalysts and the vibrational spectra of three AC models corresponding to the monomeric and dimeric oxovanadium forms of the supported catalysts V₂O₅/SiO₂ and V₂O₅/TiO₂ were defined. The detailed interpretation of normal vibration frequencies is given. The frequencies typical of the monomeric and dimeric oxovanadium forms on the carrier surface were identified.     

Intergrowth between V2O5 and TiO2 (anatase): High resolution electron microscopy evidence

V₂O₅/TiO₂ (anatase) with 5 and 20 wt.% loadings of V₂O₅ have been studied using high resolution electron microscopy. This has provided the first direct evidence for the formation of a coherent interfacial boundary between two crystalline TiO₂ and V₂O₅ phases. The type of the interfacial stacking was found to be similar for all the samples, whereas the length of the boundary formed depended on the V₂O₅ loading. A model for the atomic arrangement of this boundary based on a comparison of structural positions of oxygen and metal atoms in the crystal lattices of both phases is proposed.     

Monolayer V2O5/TiO2–ZrO2 catalysts for selective oxidation of o-xylene: preparation and characterization

A series of TiO₂?CZrO₂ supported V₂O₅ catalysts with vanadia loadings ranging from 4 to 12 wt% were synthesized by a wet impregnation technique and subjected to various thermal treatments at temperatures ranging from 773 to 1,073?K to understand the dispersion and thermal stability of the catalysts. The prepared catalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), BET surface area, oxygen uptake, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. XRD results of 773?K calcined samples conferred an amorphous nature of the mixed oxide support and a highly dispersed form of vanadium oxide. Oxygen uptake measurements supported the formation of a monolayer of vanadium oxide over the thermally stable TiO₂?CZrO₂ support. The O 1s, Ti 2p, Zr 3d, and V 2p core level photoelectron peaks of TiO₂?CZrO₂ and V₂O₅/TiO₂?CZrO₂ catalysts are sensitive to the calcination temperature. No significant changes in the oxidation states of Ti⁴⁺ and Zr⁴⁺ were noted with increasing thermal treatments. Vanadium oxide stabilized as V⁴⁺ at lower temperatures, and the presence of V⁵⁺ is observed at 1,073?K. The synthesized catalysts were evaluated for selective oxidation of o-xylene under normal atmospheric pressure in the temperature range of 600?C708?K. The TiO₂?CZrO₂ support exhibits very less conversion of o-xylene, while 12 wt% V₂O₅ loaded sample exhibited a good conversion and a high product selectivity towards the desired product, phthalic anhydride.     

Coverage-Dependent Behaviors of Vanadium Oxides for Chemical Looping Oxidative Dehydrogenation

Chemical looping provides an energy- and cost-effective route for alkane utilization. However, there is considerable CO₂ co-production caused by kinetically mismatched O²⁻ bulk diffusion and surface reaction in current chemical looping oxidative dehydrogenation systems, rendering a decreased olefin productivity. Sub-monolayer or monolayer vanadia nanostructures are successfully constructed to suppress CO₂ production in oxidative dehydrogenation of propane by evading the interference of O²⁻ bulk diffusion (monolayer versus multi-layers). The highly dispersed vanadia nanostructures on titanium dioxide support showed over 90 % propylene selectivity at 500 °C, exhibiting turnover frequency of 1.9×10⁻² s⁻¹, which is over 20 times greater than that of conventional crystalline V₂O₅. Combining in situ spectroscopic characterizations and DFT calculations, we reveal the loading–reaction barrier relationship through the vanadia/titanium interfacial interaction.     

Factors determining the selective exposure of (010) plane of V2O5 Catalysts supported on various TiO2

V₂O₅ supported on various TiO₂ including anatase, rutile and mixtures of both have been investigated with various physicochemical measurements such as BET, NH₃-TPD, NARP, XRD and so on, and the effect of the crystal phase of the TiO₂ support on the structure of the supported V₂O₅ was discussed. It has been found that the V=O species on the (010) plane of V₂O₅ on the TiO₂ supports with large BET surface area are selectively exposed to the surface, though different crystal phases of TiO₂ result in different characteristics of exposure of the (010) plane. Anatase gives the maximum exposure of the surface V=O species at significantly lower surface concentration of V₂O₅ than that for rutile. For the mixture of both, two maxima are obtained at the surface concentration of V₂O₅ corresponding to those for anatase and rutile respectively. The chemical activity of the TiO₂ surface also seems to have an effect on the exposure of the (010) plane. That is, the higher surface area and the stronger acidic property resulted in the higher exposure of the (010) plane. On leave from: Department of Applied Chemical Engineering, South-China University of Science and Technology, Guangzhou 510641, P.R. China     

Enhancing photoinduced hydrophilicity of micro arc oxidized TiO2 nanostructured porous layers by V-doping

This study sheds light on the effect of vanadium doping on hydrophilicity properties of micro arc oxidized TiO₂ porous layers. Pure and V-doped titania layers, with a pore size of 50–400 nm, were grown by micro arc oxidation method. Morphology and topography of the layers were studied by SEM and AFM techniques where formation of a porous structure with a rough surface was confirmed. Moreover, phase structure and chemical composition of the samples were investigated employing XRD and XPS techniques. The pure TiO₂ layers consisted of anatase and rutile phase. Vanadia phase was also detected in V-doped layers. It was also revealed that V₂O₅ not only dispersed in the TiO₂ matrix, but also doped into the crystalline lattice. Optical properties and band gap energy of the synthesized layers were evaluated by a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Our results showed that the band gap energy decreased when vanadium was introduced into the titania lattice. Finally, hydrophilicity of the pure and the doped layers was studied under ultraviolet and visible illuminations by measuring the water contact angle on their surface. The V-doped layers, especially those which were grown under intermediate voltages, revealed an enhanced hydrophilicity when compared to the pure TiO₂ layers.     

The Effect of MoO3 Addition to V2O5/Al2O3 Catalysts for the Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO by NH3

The effect of MoO₃ addition to alumina supported vanadia catalysts on the catalytic activity for the selective catlaytic reduction of NO is investigated. Upon the addition of MoO₃, catalytic activity is enhanced and the particle size of V₂O₅ which is shown by the results of XRD and Raman spectroscopy is decreased. The MoO₃-V₂O₅/Al₂O₃ catalyst also exhibits more resistance to SO₂ deactivation than V₂O₅/Al₂O₃ does.     

HREM Study of Nanostructured Molybdenum and Vanadium Doped Titania Catalysts

MoO₃/V₂O₅/TiO₂ (anatase) catalyst with 5 and 20 wt.% loadings of MoO₃ and V₂O₅ has been studied, using high resolution electron microscopy. Main structural peculiarity of this system was found to be the presence of nanometer size layers of a complex Mo-V-O phase on the surface of the titania support. The observed structure seems to be a metastable and may exist only on the surface of TiO₂ particles.     

Photocatalytic properties of mixed tio2/v2o5 films in water purification at varying ph

Summary Thin TiO₂ and TiO₂/V₂O₅ films are first deposited by dip coating from alcohol suspensions. The TiO₂/V₂O₅ films show somewhat better photocatalytic destruction of methylene blue in water than TiO₂ films.     

Effect of the extent of reduction of V2O5 on the adsorption of propylene and the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to give propylene on V2O5 and V2O5/TiO2-SiO2

An increase in the propylene output in the oxidative dehydration of propane on V₂O₅/TiO₂-SiO₂ was observed after prior reduction of V₂O₅ in the reaction mixture to V₂O₄, which reduces the destructive chemisorption of propylene. A low titanium dioxide content in TiO₂-SiO₂ hinders the deep reduction of V₂O₅ to V₂O₃, which reduces the conversion of propane. __________ Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental’naya Khimiya, Vol. 43, No. 6, pp. 373–378, November–December, 2007.     

Dehydrogenation of Isobutane Over V2O5/γ-Al2O3 Catalyst

The effect of the type of the support and the amount of V₂O₅ loading on the activity of V₂O₅/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst for the dehydrogenation of isobutane have been investigated. Based on the experimental results of TPR, XRD and ESR spectroscopy, it is suggested that there are strong interactions between vanadia and carrier and that the V⁴⁺ species on the surface is the active site of V₂O₅/γ-Al₂O₃ for this reaction. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Ammoxidation of methylpyrazine over binary oxide systems: IV. A vanadia—titania system

The catalytic properties of vanadia-titania catalysts in methylpyrazine ammoxidation are studied. The activity monotonically increases on changing the concentration from pure titania to pure vanadia, and the yield of methylpyrazine passes through a broad maximum corresponding to a V₂O₅ concentration from 10 to 75 wt %. The active sites of binary catalysts contain V⁵⁺ cations in a substantially distorted octahedral environment of oxygen atoms, which are strongly bound to anatase, likely due to the formation of V-O-Ti bonds     

Thermal behaviour of high surface area V2O5/TiO2 catalysts

Thermal analysis (TG and DTA) was employed for the characterization of V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalysts supported on high surface area TiO₂. The results obtained are consistent with a uniform spreading of vanadium oxide on TiO₂ surface for V₂O₅ content less than 15% by weight.The presence of V₂O₅ on the surface of TiO₂ affects the anatase-rutile phase transition lowering the temperature at which it occurs.DTA measurements, performed on catalysts after many months from the preparation, show the appearance of an exothermic peak in the range 280°–340°C. This signal has been related to the oxidation of V(IV) to V(V) on the catalyst surface.Catalysts characterization, performed by chemical analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy, has confirmed this interpretation.It has been suggested that a slow modification of the catalyst occurs, leading to an increase of the V(IV) content during the time.

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Zusammenfassung Zur Charakterisierung von V₂O₅/TiO₂-Katalysatoren auf hochoberflächigem TiO₂ Trägermaterial wurde die Thermoanalyse (TG und DTA) angewendet. Für einen V₂O₅-Gehalt von weniger als 15 Gew.% entsprechen die erhaltenen Ergebnisse einer gleichmäßigen Verteilung des Vanadiumoxides an der TiO₂-Oberfläche.Die Gegenwart von V₂O₅ an der Oberfläche von TiO₂ beeinflußt die Anatas-Rutil-Phasenumwandlung, indem sie die zugehörige Temperatur verringert.DTA-Messungen an Katalysatoren mehrere Monate nach ihrer Herstellung zeigten das Auftreten eines exothermen Peaks im Bereich 280°–340°C. Dieses Signal wurde der Oxidation von V(IV) zu V(V) an der Katalysatoroberfläche zugeschrieben.Diese Interpretation konnte durch eine Charakterisierung des Katalysatoren durch chemische Analyse und FT-IR-Spektroskopie bestätigt werden.Es wurde angedeutet, daß der Katalysator mit der Zeit einer langsamen Modifikation unterliegt, die zu einem Ansteigen des V(IV)-Gehaltes führt.