SbOx/SiO2 catalysts for the selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde using molecular oxygen as oxidant

SbOx and SbOx/SiO2 catalysts were prepared and investigated for methane selective oxidation to HCHO. HCHO selectivity up to 41% can be obtained on Sb2O5/SiO2 catalyst at 873 K and just drop gently to 18% with temperature up to 923 K. HCHO selectivity for SbOx/SiO2 catalysts decreases gently with reaction temperature, so considerable value of HCHO selectivity can still be obtained at high temperatures.