Li/MgO Catalysts Doped with Alio-valent Ions. Part I: Structure, Composition, and Catalytic Properties

Doping of Li/MgO with additional metal ions is suggested leading to an improved system with respect to the catalytic performance and stability when used for oxidative coupling of methane. We used Gd and Fe as dopants and characterized the resulting materials, showing that Fe seems to be completely and Gd partly incorporated into the MgO lattice. The catalytic performance is improved in most cases, but all materials still suffer from severe deactivation. A loss of Li is observed when being used under reaction conditions, but this Li loss is retarded for Fe-Li/MgO as compared to undoped Li/MgO.