THERMAL-ACTIVATION OF TYPICAL OXIDATIVE DEHYDROGENATION CATALYST PRECURSORS BELONGING TO THE NI-MO-O SYSTEM

NiMoO4 obtained by calcination of precursors has been shown to be a ve ry effective catalyst for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane into pr opene. Preparation conditions and thermal decomposition of two precurs ors have been studied by TG-DTA, HTXRD, FFT-IR, and thermo-desorption coupled to mass spectroscopy in order to determine their composition a nd to define the best treatment to favour the oxidative dehydrogenatio n process. The selectivity and activity for propane transformation int o propene are very different depending on the nature of the precursor and of the active phases obtained after thermal activation. The more s elective high-temperature beta phase of NiMoO4 has been obtained at a lower temperature (500-degrees-C) than previously reported (700-degree s-C).