The thermal spreading of MoO3 onto silica was studied in comparison with the thermal spreading onto alumina
using different characterization techniques. X-ray diffraction results showed that MoO3 crystals were
transformed into Mo amorphous species on alumina and silica supports by thermal treatment. Laser Raman
spectroscopy results also evidenced the transformation of MoO3 bulk into small Mo clusters and/or dispersed
Mo species, which are highly distorted, interacting with alumina and silica supports. X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy and diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS) results gave better evidence of the presence of higher
amounts of Mo species at the surface of both supports when compared with the respective physical mixtures.
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy also provided good evidence that a surface reaction may have occurred
between MoO3 and hydroxyl groups on both supports. It was possible to infer that the original MoO3 crystal
lattices were destroyed by reacting with the support surface as a result of thermal treatment and transformed
into small Mo clusters, dispersed Mo species, or both. Moreover, Raman spectroscopy showed nicely that the
interaction of Mo species was higher on alumina than silica surfaces. Raman and DRS also provide insight
into Mo species dispersion on alumina and silica samples, whereas DRS provided better evidence of the
presence of dispersed Mo species on these supports. It was possible to infer that all calcined physical mixtures
exhibited dispersed Mo species and small Mo clusters together with a small quantity of bulk MoO3 that
remained after thermal treatment. Therefore, similar results obtained on both supports demonstrated that the
thermal spreading of MoO3 also occurred on silica and the same mechanism was observed as on alumina.
However, the Mo dispersion and some Mo species were different on the supports that can be attributed to the
different surface properties of silica and alumina.