Metathesis of butene to propene on WO3 supported on MTS-9 titanium-silica: effect of loading on selectivity of product and yield of propene

An advanced heterogeneous catalyst for olefin disproportion was prepared by supporting WO 3 on titanium-silica sieve (MTS-9). The nature of the surface tungsten oxide species present in these catalysts was determined as a function of tungsten oxide loading by X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–DRS) and ultraviolet–visible Raman (UV-Raman). The catalyst showed high activity for the metathesis of butene to propene. The active centers are not crystallites of WO 3 but rather surface tungsten oxide species. The conversion of butene varies with the degree of catalyst loading.