In situ UV-vis-NIR diffuse reflectance and Raman spectroscopy and catalytic activity studies of propane oxidative dehydrogenation over supported CrO3/ZrO2 catalysts.

The molecular structures, oxidation states, and reactivity of 3 and 6% CrO3/ZrO2 catalysts prepared by incipient wetness impregnation were examined under different conditions. The in situ Raman spectroscopic studies under dehydrated conditions reveal that the 3 and 6% CrO3/ZrO2 catalysts possess equal amounts of monochromate and polychromate species. Consequently, monolayer coverage on this ZrO2 support is about 3% CrO3. The 6% CrO3/ZrO2 possesses an additional Raman band due to Cr2O3 crystals corresponding to the remaining 3% CrO3. Furthermore, during reaction conditions the polychromate species is preferentially reduced, the monochromate species are slightly affected, and the Cr2O3 crystals are not affected. The in situ UV-vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy results reveal that under steady-state reaction conditions the extent of reduction and edge energy position of surface Cr6+ cations increase with an increase in reduction environment for the 3 and 6% CrO3/ZrO2 samples. Propane oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) studies reveal that the catalytic activity expressed in moles of propane converted per gram catalyst per second is similar for the two catalysts, which is consistent with equal amounts of molecularly dispersed chromia present. The turnover frequency for the 6% CrO3/ZrO2 catalyst is, however, smaller than that for the 3% CrO3/ZrO2 sample due to the presence of Cr2O3 crystals, which are relatively inactive for propane ODH. For this catalytic system and for the experimental conditions used, propene, CO, and CO2 are primary products. Furthermore, the 33-39% propene selectivity is not affected by the C3H8/O2 ratio for both catalysts. Structure-reactivity studies suggest that the molecularly dispersed species are present in equal amounts in the 3 and 6% CrO3/ZrO2 samples as Cr6+ monochromate and polychromate species are the most effective catalytic active sites taking part in the propane ODH reaction.