Single-step preparation of mesoporous, anatase-based titanium-vanadium oxide and its application

Mesoporous solid solutions of anatase-based titanium-vanadium oxides were synthesized from aqueous solutions. The V/Ti ratio was determined by the composition of the deposition solution, while the morphology and nanoscale porosity were controlled using micelles of the surfactants cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), or hexadecylamine (HDA). The use of CTAB resulted in mesoporous powders, whereas HDA yielded clusters of nanotubes. As compared to materials of the same composition made without the use of a surfactant, the catalyst made with CTAB had 50% higher catalytic activity, and that made with IHDA had 70% higher activity. As compared to titania-supported vanadia catalysts with equivalent vanadium loading and synthesized using wet impregnation, the co-deposited materials exhibited significantly higher (up to 3.8x) catalytic activity.