Solid State, Surface and Catalytic Studies of Oxides

This project investigates the catalytic properties of oxides for the selective oxidative dehydrogenation of light alkanes and for hydrocarbon reduction of NO{sub x}. Various vanadium oxide based catalysts were investigated to elucidate the relationship between the chemical and structural properties of the catalysts and their selectivity for the formation of alkenes. It was found that vanadium oxide units that are less reducible give higher selectivities. For hydrocarbon reduction of NO{sub x}, it was found that alumina-based catalysts can be effective at higher temperatures than the corresponding zeolite-based catalysts. On some catalysts, such as SnO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}. Ag/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, the alumina participates directly in the reaction, making the catalyst bifunctional. These results are useful in research to improve the performance of this stress of catalysts