A series of rare-earth neodymia supported vanadium oxide catalysts with various V205 loadings ranging from 3 to 15 wt.% were prepared
by the wet impregnation method using ammonium metavanadate as the vanadium precursor. The nature of vanadia species formed on the
support surface is characterized hy a series of different physicochemical techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD). Fourier transform infrared
spectroscopy (FTIR). BET surface area, diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectroscopy (DR UV-vis), thermal analysis (TG-DTG/DTA) and SEM.
The acidity of the prepared systems were verified by the stepwise temperature programmed desorprion of ammonia (NH3-TPD) and found that
the total acidity gets increased with the percentage of vanadia loading. XRD and FT1R results shows the presence of surface dispersed vanadyl
species at lower loadings and the formation of higher vanadate species as the percentage composition of vanadia is increased above 9 wt.%.
The low surface area of the support. calcination temperature and the percentage of vanadia loading are found to influence the formation of
higher vanadia species. The catalytic activity of the V205-Nd203 catalysts was probed in the liquid phase hydroxylation of phenol and the
result show that the present catalysts are active at lower vanadia concentrations.
Vanadia/ceria catalysts (2–10 wt% of V2O5) were prepared by wet impregnation of ammonium metavanadate in oxalic acid solution. Structural characterization was done with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area measurements, FT-IR spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic spectral analysis (51V MASNMR). XRD and 51V MASNMR results show highly dispersed vanadia species at lower loadings and the formation of CeVO4 phase at higher V2O5 loading. The catalytic activity of catalysts was conducted in liquid phase oxidation of ethylbenzene with H2O2 as oxidant. The oxidation activity is increased with loading up to 8 wt% V2O5 and then decreased with further increase in V2O5 content to 10 wt%. Different vanadia species evidenced by various techniques were found to be selective towards ethylbenzene oxidation. The CeVO4 formation associated with increased concentration of vanadia on ceria results the production of acetophenone along with 2-hydroxyacetophenone.