Catalyst deactivation is a problem of great concern in industrial catalytic processes. Hence, prevention of catalyst deactivation poses substantial challenges in the design and operation of large-scale catalytic processes. The usual way to overcome the deactivation problem is to modify the catalyst composition by using different promoters. Although various promoters have been used for different oxidation reactions, [1][2][3][4] their precise role is not known. Unfortunately, most of the interpretations on the role of promoters are rather hypothetical probably owing to the lack of information about the exact surface structure. Among the known promoters, bismuth has very attractive properties as a promoting element in numerous heterogenous oxidation catalysts, particularly in association with noble metals. [1][2][3][4][5][6] However, the origin of the promoting role of Bi is still a matter of discussion.Acetoxylation is an industrially important reaction for producing esters in a single step. Benzyl acetate (BA), the desired product from acetoxylation of toluene, is widely used in the food, perfumery, and chemical industries. Most of the work reported so far on the acetoxylation of toluene is confined to liquid-phase and batch reactors. [7][8][9] Vapor-phase processes were previously not successful in terms of obtaining higher yields of BA with acceptable time-on-stream stability of the catalysts. [10,11] However, the recently developed Pd-Sb/TiO 2 catalysts [12][13] displayed remarkably higher conversion of toluene (> 90 %) and yields of BA (> 75 %) with a space-time yield of up to 700 g kg À1 h
À1. To our knowledge, this is the best result reported so far under gas-phase conditions. However, these catalysts are observed to undergo deactivation readily after several hours of operation as a result of coke deposits, which obviously hampers their application on a commercial scale.Considering the limited lifetime of these catalysts, we have directed our research efforts to develop stable and novel Pd compounds that have improved catalyst lifetime as well as the higher activity and selectivity of the earlier catalysts. To achieve this objective, we modified the composition of the PdSb/TiO 2 catalysts by adding promoters such as Bi, Cu, and Sn. [14][15] Among these promoters, the Bi modification improved both the catalyst life as well as the selectivity for desired product (BA). However, the precise role of Bi remained unclear. In the present study we examine the catalyst deactivation phenomenon of Pd-Sb/TiO 2 catalysts and the role of Bi in improving catalyst lifetime and selectivity.In the earlier investigations on Pd-Sb/TiO 2 catalysts [13] we clearly detected differences between the fresh and used catalysts. The used catalysts displayed drastic increase in Pd particle size, coke deposition, loss of both Pd and Sb at the surface etc. In view of this, a TiO 2 -supported catalyst with 10 wt % Pd and 8 wt % Sb was then chosen as a model catalyst (designated as 10Pd8Sb) and subjected to reaction conditions for a wide ran...