COMPARISON OF THE OXIDATIVE COUPLING REACTIONS OF BENZENE WITH THOSE OF METHANE OF RARE-EARTH-OXIDE CATALYSTS

The oxidative coupling of benzene has been compared with that of methane on La2O3, CeO2, Pr6O11, and Sm2O3. At temperatures greater than 1048 K, the gas phase oxidative coupling of benzene appears to be predominant, while the oxidation occurs catalytically at 873 K. The conversion of benzene and of methane at 873 K follows the order of Sm2O3>La2O3>Pr6O11>CeO2, suggesting that the abstraction of hydrogen from the aromatic and the saturated compounds depends primarily on the nature of the catalyst but not the reactant. Ancillary information has also been obtained from the results of XPS analyses of both fresh catalysts and those previously used in one of the reactions.