ON MECHANISM OF CH3OH OXIDATION TO CH2O OVER MOO3-FE2(MOO4)3 CATALYST

The kinetics of methanol oxidation over MoO3Fe2(MoO4)3 catalyst were studied by means of a differential flow reactor and a pulse reactor in the temperature range 180-280 °C. The reaction rate does not depend on the partial pressures of the reactants, except for the lowest ones. Formaldehyde and, especially, water act as inhibitors of the reaction. A competitive adsorption was observed between methanol and water. The reaction rates measured in the pulse reactor were much higher than those measured in the steady-state flow reactor, while the reverse was found for the apparent activation energies. A mechanism is proposed which satisfactorily agrees with the experimental results. The rate-determining step seems to be the desorption of the products. © 1969.