Abstract: Methyl methacrylate (MMA) is an important organic chemical raw material, which is widely used in the preparation of surface coatings, synthetic resins, paint coatings, and polymer materials. With the continuous development of China's petrochemical industry, especially the construction of large-scale ethylene plants, C₄ resources (isobutane and isobutylene, etc) are becoming increasingly abundant, therefore, the clean process of producing MMA via C₄ hydrocarbon oxidation shows significant economic and technological advantages. The oxidation of C₄ hydrocarbons to methacrolein (MAL) is the key step of C₄ hydrocarbon oxidation to produce MMA. The research status of catalysts (including Mo-Bi, Mo-Sb, Mo-V-Te, heteropoly acid and V-based catalysts) for the oxidation of C₄ hydrocarbons to methacrolein was mainly reviewed, and the key research directions of catalysts in the future were further explored.

Key words: C₄ hydrocarbon, oxidation reaction, methacrolein, catalyst, Mo-Bi oxide