How to achieve a highly selective yet simply available vanadium phosphorus oxide-based catalyst for sustainable acrylic acid production via acetic acid-formaldehyde condensation.

A series of unsupported and supported vanadium phosphorus oxide catalysts were prepared by employing a new strategy, which significantly reduced the complexity of catalyst preparation. The greatly simplified catalyst fabrication benefits a greener and lower-cost process for practical applications. The currently fabricated systems showed ca. 90% target product(s) selectivity with a promising yield as well as catalyst durability.