Combinatorial discovery of oxidative dehydrogenation catalysts within the Mo-V-Nb-O system

Combinatorial methodologies were used for the synthesis and screening of mixed metal oxide heterogeneous catalysts. Primary screening at low reactant conversions at a throughput of greater than 10,000 catalyst compositions per month was performed by using simultaneous MS and photothermal deflection spectroscopy on spatially separated thick film-catalysts with ≃200 μg per catalyst prepared by using automated liquid dispensing. Secondary screening under realistic operating conditions was performed at a throughput of greater than 3,000 catalyst compositions per month on ≃50 mg of catalyst in an array of fixed bed microreactors with gas chromatograph detection. The approach was validated by the discovery of catalysts with superior performance to those previously described for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene. We show the full implementation and integration of combinatorial methodologies for synthesis, screening, discovery, and optimization of multicomponent heterogeneous catalysts.