Effect of preparation method on the physicochemical properties of MoVNbTe catalyst for propane ammoxidation to acrylonitrile

MoVNbTe catalyst has been found to be the most active and selective catalyst in the ammoxidation of propane to ACN, the selective oxidation of propane to acrylic acid and in the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene. However, in our previous work, when 0.5 mL of MoVNbTe catalyst prepared using slurry method was tested in the propane ammoxidation to ACN, it only shows 1% conversion of propane with about 55% selectivity to CAN, thus giving only 0.6% yields to ACN. The poor catalyst activity is attributed to insufficient formation of crystalline phases essential for the propane activation process. In an attempt to improve the physicochemical properties of this catalyst, several preparation methods have been used, namely hydrothermal, reflux, changing the solvent and changing the calcinations temperature. The modified catalysts have been characterized using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and N2 physisorption (BET). The MoVNbTe catalyst prepared by hydrothermal method shows a remarkable improvement in the formation of crystalline phases.