Tungsten oxides as catalysts in selective oxidation

Abstract The reaction of allyl iodide was studied at the surface of four tungsten oxides and molybdenum trioxide. On WO2.95 and MoO3, in which crystallographic shear structures are formed on reduction, acrolein is produced at 300–400 °C, whereas W18O49 and WO2, which do not show this property, are inactive, as is WO3. It is concluded that the transformation of a corner-linked into an edge-linked arrangement of metal-oxygen octahedra provides a facile route for insertion of oxygen into a hydrocarbon molecule.