This work deals with the catalytic behavior of a series of Sn-Mo-O catalyst
s in the partial oxidation of methanol. The catalysts of different Sn:Mo ra
tios, were prepared by co-precipitation and they were investigated by means
of dynamic experiments, test reactions (methanol-formaldehyde partial oxid
ation. isopropyl alcohol decomposition) and physico-chemical characterizati
on (XRD, BET, TPD of NH3. TPR, XPS and EPR).
It was observed that interdispersion between MoO3 and SnO2 favors a superfi
cial architecture in which the Sn-Mo interaction plays a major role modifyi
ng the reactivity of the lattice oxygens and the reducibility of Mo ions an
d, therefore, the catalytic behavior. The partial oxidation of methanol ind
uces a reordering of the catalyst structural organization leading to a Mo s
urface enrichment. The absence of chemical shifts for Sn (XPS) suggests tha
t the O-Mo bond is mainly responsible fur the methanol reaction. (C) 2001 E
lsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.