Abstract: To elucidate possible reaction pathways for propane selective oxidation to acrolein over the MoPO/SiO2 catalyst, oxidative conversions of propane and possible intermediates or their probe molecules as well as the reaction products of the selective oxidation of propane to acrolein on the catalyst were studied. The results suggested that isopropoxy species is one of the intermediates for the selective oxidation of propane to acrolein over the MoPO/SiO2 catalyst. The isopropoxy species can be converted either to acetone by dehydrogenation or to propene by β-hydrogen elimination, and the latter can be further converted to acrolein through an allylic process.

Key words: molybdenum oxide, silica, phosphorus, propane, selective oxidation, acrolein, reaction mechanism