What is the mechanism for the oxidation of benzene to maleic anhydride using vanadium pentoxide? [closed]








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What is the mechanism for the oxidation of benzene to maleic anhydride using vanadium pentoxide, $\ce{V2O5}$?




A talk given by Ken Waugh named *The Detailed Kinetics of the Partial Oxidation Reactions: Benzene/Butane to Maleic Anhydride, Ethylene to Ethylene Oxide,*[1] proposes the following mechanism on page 4:


[![DA Dowden mechanism of benzene oxidation to MA using molecularly adsorbed oxygen](https://i.stack.imgur.com/njquL.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/njquL.png)


[1]: Acessible as pdf via [rsc.org](http://www.rsc.org/images/Ken_Waugh_tcm18-236914.pdf)


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