Molybdenum directed metal oxidation

In the investigation of hydrocarbon partial oxidation reactions the study of the factors that determine selectivity has been of paramount importance. In the past thirty years considerable work relevant to this topic has been carried out. However, there is yet no unified hypothesis to address this problem. In this paper we suggest that the primary reaction pathway in redox type reactions on oxides is determined by the structure of the adsorbed intermediate. When the hydrocarbon intermediate (R) is bonded through a metal oxygen bond (M-O-R) partial oxidation products are likely, but when the intermediate is bonded through a direct metal-carbon bond (M-R) total oxidation products are favored. Results on two redox systems are presented ethane oxidation on vanadium oxide and propylene oxidation on molybdenum oxide. 

Acrolein and Acrylic Acid. Acrolein and acrylic acid are manufactured by the direct catalytic air oxidation of propylene. In a related process called ammoxida-tion, heterogeneous oxidation of propylene by oxygen in the presence of ammonia yields acrylonitrile (see Section 9.5.3). Similar catalysts based mainly on metal oxides of Mo and Sb are used in all three transformations. A wide array of single-phase systems such as bismuth molybdate or uranyl antimonate and multicomponent catalysts, such as iron oxide-antimony oxide or bismuth oxide-molybdenum oxide with other metal ions (Ce, Co, Ni), may be employed.939 The first commercial process to produce acrolein through the oxidation of propylene, however, was developed by Shell applying cuprous oxide on Si-C catalyst in the presence of I2 promoter. 

This transformation is carried out by intimately mixing metal oxide powders with carbon, again as with the pure metals, at temperatures between 1500-2300 K, with or without the presence of a hydrocarbon gas. The reactions of oxides with carbon are thermodynamically favored, but high temperatures are again needed because the transformations are limited by diffusion. The direct transformation of oxides to carbides is economically advantageous over the use of metals since the need to separately reduce the oxide phases is avoided. Wide application is found for the commercial production of carbides of molybdenum, tungsten, and tantalum. 

There seems to be no literature about the direct oxidation of ethane to acetic acid over heteropolycompounds catalysts. Nevertheless, there is a limited amount of literature[10,26-28] about direct oxidation of ethane to acetic acid over oxide catalysts at low temperature (200-350 C). It seems that vanadium and molybdenum are necessary to those catalysts, and the addition of water is useful to increase the production of acetic acid. Roy et al. [10] has proved that vanadium and molybdenum phosphates supported on Ti02-anatase were effective in the direct oxidation of ethane to acetic acid. Considering previous research results, it is suggested that other promoters, such as trcmsition-metal oxides, are necessary to enhance the catalytic activity of the activated H3PMol2O40(Py) in the direct oxidation of ethane to acetic acid. 

So little is known about molybdenum enzymes other than milk xanthine oxidase that there is little to be said by way of general conclusions. In all cases where there is direct evidence (except possibly for xanthine dehydrogenase from Micrococcus lactilyticus) it seems that molybdenum in the enzymes does have a redox function in catalysis. For the xanthine oxidases and dehydrogenases and for aldehyde oxidase, the metal is concerned in interaction of the enzymes with reducing substrates. However, for nitrate reductase it is apparently in interaction with the oxidizing substrate that the metal is involved. In nitrogenase the role of molybdenum is still quite uncertain. 

Cathodic stripping voltammetry has been used [807] to determine lead, cadmium, copper, zinc, uranium, vanadium, molybdenum, nickel, and cobalt in water, with great sensitivity and specificity, allowing study of metal specia-tion directly in the unaltered sample. The technique used preconcentration of the metal at a higher oxidation state by adsorption of certain surface-active complexes, after which its concentration was determined by reduction. The reaction mechanisms, effect of variation of the adsorption potential, maximal adsorption capacity of the hanging mercury drop electrode, and possible interferences are discussed. 

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