METHANOL OXIDATION AS A CATALYTIC SURFACE PROBE

The goal of this review is to present some aspects of the use of a tes t reaction, i.e., methanol oxidation, as a tool to characterize oxidat ion catalysts. The selectivity pattern and the formation rates of the reaction products are used to characterize both structural (dispersion ) as well as chemical properties (acid-base and redox) on supported ox ide catalysts, especially for molybdenum-based systems supported on si lica and vanadia on titanium oxide. This highly sensitive technique wh ich gives information on the catalytically active sites at the molecul ar level characterizes a catalyst at work and is particularly well-ada pted to the study of supported catalysts.