On the selectivity to ethylene during ethane ODH over M1-based catalysts. A surface and electrochemical study

MoVO, MoVTeO and MoVTeNbO mixed oxides, prepared hydrothermally and heat-treated in N2 at 400, 500 or 600 °C, are active and selective catalysts in the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of ethane, although their catalytic behaviour strongly depends on the composition and the activation temperature of the material. Thus, the selectivity to ethylene over samples heat-treated at 400 or 600 °C, decreases according to the following trend: MoVTeNb-600 > MoV-400 > MoVTe-600 > MoVTe-400 > MoVTeNb-400 >> MoV-600 (with catalysts heat-treated at 500 °C presenting an intermediate performance). This catalytic performance can be explained to a high extent by the presence of the M1 phase in the best catalysts. Interestingly, the temperature of formation and decomposition of the M1 phase strongly depends on the chemical composition of the catalysts, leading to different trends depending on the heat-treatment temperature. Not only the presence of the M1 phase determines the catalytic performance but also the V4+/V5+ ratio in the surface of catalysts. Additionally, a comprehensive brand-new electrochemical characterization of the catalysts has been carried out for MoV-based samples with M1 phase. Accordingly, the best catalytic behaviour in terms of selectivity to ethylene in the ethane ODH was observed in those materials presenting higher charge-transfer resistances at the interfacial active parts and n-type semiconductivity with few O-vacancies. Besides, lower current densities obtained in cyclic voltammetries (related to low electrochemical activity) has been associated with higher selectivity in the ODH reaction.