Propane oxidation with chemically bound oxygen on Pt/TiO2/Al2O3 and Pt/CeO2/Al2O3 catalysts

Possible mechanisms are suggested for propane oxidation on Pt/TiO2/Al2O3 and Pt/CeO2/Al2O3 catalysts in the cyclic reactant supply mode. As compared to the steady-state process, the process conducted as catalyst oxidation-reduction cycles results in a very different product composition: it is more selective toward partial oxidation products and yields much smaller amounts of complete oxidation products. It is established by isothermal and temperature-programmed oxygen desorption that, under the reaction conditions examined, the oxygen desorbed from the catalyst surface into the gas phase makes a negligible contribution to propane oxidation. It is proved by XPS that propane oxidation is due to the chemically bound oxygen of the catalyst. The hypothetical mechanism of the process includes propane activation on Pt followed by the transfer of the activated species to the oxygen-storing component (TiO2 or CeO2), where the intermediates are oxidized by chemically bound oxygen.