Plasma treated M1 MoVNbTeOx–CeO2 composite catalyst for improved performance of oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane

High activity and productivity of MoVNbTeOx catalyst are challenging tasks in oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (ODHE) for industrial application. In this work, phase-pure M1 with 30 wt% CeO2 composite catalyst was treated by oxygen plasma to further enhance catalyst performance. The results show that the oxygen vacancies generated by the solid-state redox reaction between M1 and CeO2 capture active oxygen species in gas and transform V4+ to V5+ without damage to M1 structure. The space-time yield of ethylene of the plasma-treated catalyst was significantly increased, in which the catalyst shows an enhancement near ∼100% than that of phase-pure M1 at 400 °C for ODHE process. Plasma treatment for catalysts demonstrates an effective way to convert electrical energy into chemical energy in catalyst materials. Energy conversion is achieved by using the catalyst as a medium.