Total oxidation of propane in vanadia-promoted platinum-alumina catalysts: Influence of the order of impregnation

Differently prepared vanadium promoted Pt/alumina catalysts have been prepared, characterized and tested for propane total oxidation. V-promoted Pt/Al2O3 catalysts have shown remarkably higher catalytic activity than V-free Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. Among V-promoted Pt catalysts that prepared by coimpregnation gave the highest alkane conversions in the whole range of reaction temperatures studied. Factors such as Pt particle size or the oxidation state of platinum do not seem to be the responsible for the enhanced performance. Modification of the redox properties of the catalyst (i.e. high reducibility of vanadium species) likely provoked by the close contact between platinum particles and vanadium species and the partial introduction of vanadium in the platinum particles can be related to the improved reactivity of the PtV catalysts