Facile synthesis of ordered mesoporous Cu-ZrPO with high copper contents as catalyst for liquid phase oxidation of ethylbenzene

• A series of ordered M-Cu-ZrPO were synthesized via a facile one-pot EISA method.
• The M-Cu-ZrPO had excellent textural properties and thermal stability.
• The copper contents could be controlled in a wide range.
• The introduced copper species were homogeneously dispersed in mesoporous skeleton.
• The M-Cu-ZrPO showed excellent catalytic performance in oxidation reaction.

A series of mesoporous Cu-ZrPO (M-Cu-ZrPO) materials with high specific surface area (∼200 m2 g−1), large pore volume (∼0.4 cm3 g−1), uniform pore size (∼7.8 nm) and various copper contents in a wide range (0–40%) were successfully synthesized via a facile one-pot evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) strategy. Different characterization techniques, XRD, N2-physisorption, TEM, TG-DSC, UV–vis spectra and H2-TPR were employed to investigate the mesoporous structure and copper states. The ordered mesostructure was improved with the introduction of copper species and could be successfully maintained even at a copper content up to 30%, in which the copper species were highly dispersed in the skeleton of mesostructure. Additionally, M-Cu-ZrPO exhibited excellent thermal stability and the ordered mesostructure could be successfully preserved even after treating at 700 °C. Moreover, M-Cu-ZrPO was employed as catalyst for liquid phase oxidation of ethylbenzene. On account of the advantageous mesoporous structure and highly dispersed copper species, the catalytic performance of M-Cu-ZrPO was gradually improved with the increasing of copper contents and achieved the maximum at 30% copper content with 91.2% conversion of ethylbenzene and 87.0% selectivity of acetophenone. In addition, M-Cu-ZrPO showed excellent stability and reusability even after five cycles.

A series of ordered mesoporous Cu-ZrPO (M-Cu-ZrPO) materials with various copper contents, excellent textural properties and thermal stability were successfully synthesized via a facile one-pot EISA strategy. In addition, the M-Cu-ZrPO showed excellent catalytic performance in liquid phase oxidation of ethylbenzene.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide