US EPA

4457156 

Journal Article 

The surface of iron molybdate catalysts used for the selective oxidation of methanol 

Yeo, BR; Pudge, GJF; Bugler, KG; Rushby, AV; Kondrat, S; Bartley, J; Golunski, S; Taylor, SH; Gibson, E; Wells, PP; Brookes, C; Bowker, M; Hutchings, GJ 

2016 

1 

Surface Science
ISSN: 0039-6028 

648 

163-169 

10.1016/j.susc.2015.11.010 

WOS:000374198600024 

The oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde is a major chemical process carried out catalytically and iron molybdate is one of the major catalysts for this process. In this paper we explore the nature of the active and selective surfaces of iron molybdate catalysts and show that the effective catalysts comprise molybdenum rich surfaces. We conclude that it is therefore important to maximise the surface area of these active catalysts and to this end we have studied catalysts made using a new physical grinding method with oxalic acid. For super-stoichiometric materials (Fe:Mo = 1:2.2) the reaction data show that physical mixing produces effective catalysts, possibly offering an improvement over the conventional co-precipitation method. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 

Methanol oxidation; Formaldehyde synthesis; Iron molybdate; Catalyst surface; Catalyst preparation