Modified niobia as a new catalyst for selective production of dimethoxymethane from methanol

Abstract

Synthetic niobia, after an innovative surface modification, was utilized for synthesis of dimethoxymethane (DMM) from methanol. A bifunctional niobium oxide, obtained by a previous treament with H 2 O 2 , presented a highly selective production of DMM in the liquid phase. The analysis of the product with mass spectrometry showed that dehydration/oxidation takes place to selectively produce DMM. The results strongly suggest that the simultaneous methanol dehydration and oxidation involves bifunctional proper- ties of the niobias with acid sites and oxidizing species generated after the modification with H 2 O 2 , which were identified by Raman spectroscopy with a strong signal at 888 cm -1 assigned to ν(O-O) due to the peroxo species generated in modified niobia.