Active oxygen in selective oxidation catalysis

The paper reviews literature data related to oxygen species available on the surface of metal oxides and their possible role in selective oxidation. With some reservations, one may conclude that the main concept accepted presently in oxidation catalysis assumes that selective oxidation is provided by strongly bonded lattice oxygen, while the full oxidation is provided by weakly bonded reactive oxygen. Recent studies on the oxidation mechanism over FeZSM-5 zeolites with N2O give ground to reconsider this concept in order to integrate the earlier suggested radical oxygen idea, which supposes an important role of O− radicals in selective oxidation. This highly reactive oxygen species can be considered as a powerful tool for activation of organic molecules.