Direct epoxidation of propylene with hydrogen peroxide over TS-1 catalysts: Effect of hydrophobicity of the catalysts

TS-1 (titanium silicalite-1) catalysts were hydrothermally synthesized in the presence of polymethylmethacrylate bead (denoted as TS-1_PMMA) and polystyrene bead (denoted as TS-1_PS) for use in the direct epoxidation of propylene with hydrogen peroxide. TS-1 catalyst was also synthesized by a hydrothermal method in the absence of polymer bead. It was revealed that TS-1_PMMA and TS-1_PS catalysts showed a better catalytic performance than TS-1 catalyst in terms of conversion of hydrogen peroxide, selectivity for propylene oxide, and yield for propylene oxide, due to their enhanced hydrophobicity. Among three catalysts, TS-1_PS with the highest hydrophobicity showed the best catalytic performance.