Studies on Diarylmethanes (Part 9)

In order to clarify the active species of MoO3-Al2O3 catalyst for hydrocracking of diarylmethane, the effects of MoO3 content and calcination temperature on catalytic activity were studied. Moreover, changes in the hydrocracking behavior of diarylmethane over pretreated catalysts with water and aqueous ammonia were investigated.The catalytic activity increased with increasing MoO3 content, calcination temperature, and reduction time. Molybdenum oxide, which is extractable with aqueous ammonia but not extractable with water, was favorable for hydrocracking reaction.These results were well correlated with Giordano's study1). It was suggested that the main active species for hydrocracking were weak acidic sites formed by the reduction of octahedral Mo(VI) interacting with Al2O3.