Enhanced low-temperature activity and selectivity for the ammoxidation of 2,6-dichlorotoluene using V-Ti-O nanocomposite synthesized by one-step hydrothermal method

V-Ti-O nanocomposite was synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal decomposition of oxalate-vanadium and -titanium complex solution. Various characterization results have showed that the V-Ti-O product is composed of numerous nanoparticles with sizes of around 10-20 nm which aggregate and result in clusters. The nanostructures exhibit great specific surface area of 90.2 m2 g-1. Vanadium is tetracoordinated and disperses in polymeric species on the surface of anatase TiO2, meanwhile partial V4+ substituting Ti4+ ions are doped into anatase TiO2 lattice, which promotes the redox properties. The catalytic performance of the as-obtained V-Ti-O nanomaterial was tested in the ammoxidation of 2,6-dichlorotoluene to 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile. The results have demonstrated that the V-Ti-O nanostructure exhibits unprecedented low-temperature activity of 330 degrees C with the yield of 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile reaching up to 84%.

Automated summary

The V-Ti-O nanocomposite was synthesized through one-step hydrothermal decomposition, showing large specific surface area and cluster formation of nanoparticles. Vanadium is tetracoordinated on the surface of anatase TiO2, with some V4+ substituting Ti4+ ions in the lattice, enhancing redox properties.