Facile synthesis and synergetic interaction of VPO/β-SiC composites toward solvent-free oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde

Abstract

Composite materials have revealed remarkable activities in various catalytic applications. However, choosing an appropriate material to enhance the catalytic activity and stability is a major challenge in the field of catalysis. In this article, we reported vanadium phosphorus oxide (VPO)/β-SiC as a stable composite material with good catalytic activity. VPO/β-SiC composite materials with different compositions were fabricated by the impregnation technique to investigate the catalytic activity and stability of these materials in liquid-phase reactions. The physiochemical characteristics of the prepared catalysts were analyzed by several spectroscopic methods. The catalytic activities of VPO/β-SiC composites were studied in a solvent-free oxidation of methanol using tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as an oxidant. The reaction conditions were optimized by changing various reaction parameters. Under optimized reaction conditions, the 10 wt % VPO/β-SiC composite showed 100% conversion with 89.8% selectivity to formaldehyde.