Thin‐film β‐MoO3 Supported on α‐Fe2O3 as a Shell–Core Catalyst for the Selective Oxidation of Methanol to Formaldehyde

Abstract

β‐MoO3/α‐Fe2O3 catalysts synthesized by chemical vapor deposition exhibit a uniform shell–core structure. The structure of the metastable β‐MoO3 film is retained even after calcination in air at 873 K, owing to strong Mo_O_Fe links at the interface. The shell–core β‐MoO3/α‐Fe2O3 catalysts are much more active than, and comparably selective to, the reference α‐MoO3 catalyst in the selective oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde.