Electrospun Hollow VO_x/SiO₂ Nanofibers for Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane

A series of hollow VO_x/SiO₂ nanofiber catalysts (nV/S-f) with vanadium content ranging from 0.25 wt% to 4.0 wt% were prepared by electrospinning-calcination, and characterized by ICP-MS, XRD, N₂ adsorption–desorption, SEM, XPS, UV–Vis-DRS and H₂-TPR. Subsequently, the performance of these catalysts in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODHP) was evaluated. It was found that vanadium species with high dispersivity were obtained when the V content was less than 1.5 wt%. By comparison, 1.0V/S-f catalyst had the best catalytic performance, especially in terms of the propylene selectivity at high-temperature: ~ 77% at 550 °C and ~ 74% at 575 °C. In contrast to the conventional impregnation technique, the catalyst with one-dimensional nanostructure has more catalytic advantages.