A step forward in the preparation of V–Mg–O catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane

The aerogel technique advantageously provides a synthetic route to prepare efficient V–Mg–O catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane. It was shown that the obtained samples are characterized by a nanocrystal structure with a developed surface area. Such catalysts, comparing with VO_x/MgO system prepared by impregnation, demonstrate superior activity in the studied reaction. The main drawback of this system is a shaping difficulty. To get the strong granules, a high molding pressure should be applied that collapses the nanostructure of the aerogels. The addition of alumina powder into the formed sol or before the sol formation stage allowed obtaining the V–Mg–O/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts, which can be shaped easily at lower molding pressure. In this case, alumina plays the role of a binder and secondary support. The samples were characterized by low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, scanning and transmission electron microscopies, X-ray diffraction analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The activity of the prepared samples, in terms of the propylene yield, was compared with the literature data. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].