Synthesis, characterization of bimetallic Ce–Fe-SBA-15 and its catalytic performance in the phenol hydroxylation

A series of Ce and Fe incorporated SBA-15 mesoporous materials were synthesized through direct hydrothermal method and characterized by using inductively coupling plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo gravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (TG/DSC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–vis) and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm techniques. The results indicated that: (1) all the samples exhibited typical hexagonal arrangement of mesoporous structure with high surface area, (2) the heteroatoms were, at least in some extent, incorporated into the framework of SBA-15, (3) high utilization of the Fe and Ce could be achieved through the hydrothermal treatment, and (4) the incorporation of Fe could efficiently promote the incorporation/dispersion behavior of Ce into the SBA-15. Catalytic performances of the obtained materials were evaluated in the hydroxylation of phenol with H2O2. Catalytic tests showed the different selectivity with different incorporated Ce/Fe ratios, and the results suggest that an appropriate Ce/Fe ratio would be the optimal catalyst for the reaction.