Study of the elementary processes involved in the selective oxidation of methane over MoO(sub x)/SiO(sub 2)

A MoO(sub x)/SiO(sub 2) catalyst prepared with a Mo loading of 0.44 Mo/nm(super 2) consisted of isolated, pentacoordinated molybdate species containing a single Mo=O bond. Raman spectroscopy results showed that these are reduced by H(sub 2) to molybdate species containing Mo(super IV) cations but methane and CO are not effective reducing agents hence active species for methane oxidation is a peroxide species formed by the reaction of oxygen with the low concentration of reduced molybdate species present on catalyst surface.