Facile Spray Pyrolysis Synthesis of Various Metal-Doped MoO₂ Microspheres for Catalytic Partial Oxidation of n-Dodecane

Abstract: MoO₂ microspheres doped with various metal species (Zr, Ti or Co) were simply prepared by means of a one-step ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. The dopant metal species were used as a reducing agent to promote the synthesis of MoO₂, which is a metastable phase. The differences in electronegativity and radius between Mo and the dopant metal species influenced the structure and catalytic activity of the resulting MoO₂ material. Partial oxidation of n-dodecane, a surrogate of Jet A fuel, was performed to evaluate the catalytic activity of MoO₂ spheres doped with Zr, Ti, or Co. Among the produced samples, Co-doped MoO₂ microspheres showed the highest H₂ and CO yield as well as the highest C₁₂ conversion. Graphical Abstract: Various metal-doped MoO₂ microspheres (with Ti, Zr, or Co dopants) were simply prepared by means of a one-step ultrasonic spray pyrolysis, where the dopant metal species were used as a reducing agent to promote the synthesis of MoO₂. The differences in electronegativity and radius between Mo and the dopant metal species influenced the structure and catalytic activity for partial oxidation of n-dodecane. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]