Takeshi Matsuda, Hirotoshi Sakagami and Nobuo Takahashi
The catalytic performances of molybdenum oxides for the isomerization of heptane have been investigated at 623 K under atmospheric pressure. After a long induction period, MoO3 became an active and selective catalyst for this reaction. The catalytic activity, however, declined gradually with time on stream. Loading small amounts of Ni onto MoO3 was effective in stabilizing the isomerization activity without a change in isomerization selectivity. The isomerization activity became stable against deactivation when Ni/SiO2 was mixed with MoO3. We conclude from these results that Ni acted as a port of spilled-over hydrogen, which stabilized the isomerization activity of MoO3.