Vanadium has been introduced to MCM-41 without collapse of the mesoporous structure by exchanging VO2+ ions in the aqueous solution with the template cations in the uncalcined MCM-41. This template-ion exchange (TIE) method provides tetrahedrally coordinated vanadyl species dispersed in the channel of MCM-41. Such synthesized V-MCM-41 shows higher catalytic activity in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane than that prepared by direct hydrothermal method
