Direct Formation of Acetaldehyde from Ethane Using Carbon Dioxide as a Novel Oxidant over Oxidized Diamond-Supported Catalysts

We have developed a novel method of producing acetaldehyde directly from ethane using carbon dioxide. The selective oxidation of C 2 H 6 using CO 2 as an oxidant was studied over various metal oxide-loaded catalysts. Among metal oxides, vanadium oxide afforded the highest activity toward CH 3 CHO when it was loaded on the oxidized diamond. With a V 2 O 5 loading level of 3 wt % on oxidized diamond, 140 μmol/h·g of catalyst of CH 3 CHO was obtained at 923 K with C 2 H 6 and CO 2 (1:1 mixed gas) in SV of 18 000 mL/h·g of catalyst. C 2 H 4 and HCHO were obtained as byproducts. In the absence of CO 2, no aldehydes were obtained, indicating that oxygen was supplied from CO 2 through the vanadium oxide surface.