Cu- and Fe-ZSM-5 as catalysts for phenol hydroxylation

Cu- and Fe-ZSM-5 catalysts were hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by XRD, BET, FTIR and UV-vis. Two different mineralizing agents were used to prepare Cu-ZSM-5 catalysts: methylamine (Cu-Z-o) and sodium hydroxide (Cu-Z-B). Fe-ZSM-5 catalysts were synthesized either without mineralizing agent (Fe-Z-s) or with ammonium fluoride (Fe-Z-f). The type of mineralizing agent used strongly influences the catalytic activity of the resulting materials on the aqueous hydroxylation of phenol with hydrogen peroxide.