Effect of the Conditions of Thermal Treatment of Molybdenum–Titanium and Vanadium–Molybdenum–Titanium Oxide Catalysts on Pore Structure Formation

The effect of the conditions of thermal treatment on the texture formation in molybdenum–titanium oxide (Mo–Ti–O) and vanadium–molybdenum–titanium oxide (V–Mo–Ti–O) catalysts was studied. It was found that the presence of MoO₃ in the Mo–Ti–O catalyst resulted in the stabilization of the surface area of anatase and in the retention of the fine pore structure upon thermal treatment because of the insertion of highly dispersed molybdenum crystallites into the aggregates of anatase crystallites, preventing from their agglomeration over a wide range of temperatures. In the presence of MoO₃ and V₂O₅ in the catalyst, anatase particles underwent agglomeration as the temperature was increased. This resulted in a more drastic decrease in the specific surface area and an increase in the pore size, as compared with binary samples, because of the formation of a thermally labile vanadium–molybdenum compound at the surface of anatase.