Direct Formation of Acetaldehyde from Ethane Using Carbon Dioxide as a Novel Oxidant over Oxidized Diamond-Supported Catalysts

Abstract

We have developed a novel method of producing acetaldehyde directly from ethane using carbon dioxide. The selective oxidation of C2H6 using CO2 as an oxidant was studied over various metal oxide-loaded catalysts. Among metal oxides, vanadium oxide afforded the highest activity toward CH3CHO when it was loaded on the oxidized diamond. With a V2O5 loading level of 3 wt % on oxidized diamond, 140 μmol/h·g of catalyst of CH3CHO was obtained at 923 K with C2H6 and CO2 (1:1 mixed gas) in SV of 18 000 mL/h·g of catalyst. C2H4 and HCHO were obtained as byproducts. In the absence of CO2, no aldehydes were obtained, indicating that oxygen was supplied from CO2 through the vanadium oxide surface.