Nitrogen-containing mesoporous carbon (N-MC) with high surface area (=938 m(2)/g) and large pore volume (0.99 cm(3)/g) was synthesized by a templating method using SBA-15 and polypyrrole as a templating agent and a carbon precursor, respectively. The N-MC was then modified to have a positive charge, and thus, to provide sites for the immobilization of the H5PMo10V2O40 (PMo10V2) catalyst. By taking advantage of the overall negative charge of [PMo10V2O40](5-), the PMo10V2 catalyst was immobilized on the N-MC support as a charge matching component. The prepared PMo10V2/N-MC catalyst was applied to the vapor-phase oxidation of methacrolein (a model surface-type reaction). It was found that the PMo10V2O40](5-) species were finely and chemically immobilized on the N-MC support as charge matching species. In the vapor-phase oxidation of methacrolein, the PMo10V2/N-MC catalyst showed a higher conversion of methacrolein and a higher yield for methacrylic acid than the unsupported PMo10V2 catalyst. Furthermore, the PMo10V2/N-MC catalyst also showed a higher conversion of methacrolein and a higher yield for methacrylic acid than the PMo10V2/SBA-15 catalyst prepared by an impregnation method. The enhanced catalytic performance of PMo10V2/N-MC in the model surface-type reaction was due to the fine dispersion of PMo10V2 species formed via chemical immobilization. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.