Abstract:
Singlet oxygen emission and peroxide generation at the surface of molybdenum–vanadium oxides evidenced that the catalytic activity of a MoO3:V2O5 mixed oxide at 70–175 °C was governed by the formation of peroxo groups in the interaction of molecular oxygen with adjacent Viv surface centers; the thermolysis of these groups yielded singlet oxygen capable of oxidizing selectively alcohols to aldehydes.
Keywords:molybdenum–vanadium mixed oxides, singlet oxygen, catalysis, oxidation, peroxo groups, clusterization of redox centers.