Highly selective oxidation of methanol to dimethoxymethane over SO42−/V2O5–ZrO2

Abstract

The sulfated vanadia–zirconia SO₄²⁻/V₂O₅–ZrO₂ catalyst, prepared by an impregnation method and calcined at various temperatures, was found to have a high catalytic activity for methanol oxidation to dimethoxymethane in a fixed bed reactor and a batch autoclave using O₂ as the oxidant due to the crystalline V₂O₅ dispersed on the surface as redox active sites, as well as stronger acidic sites.