Hydroxylation of benzene over TS-PQ™ catalyst

The direct hydroxylation of benzene with hydrogen peroxide was studied over a MFI-structure titanium-silica based catalyst denoted as TS-PQ™ (the trade mark of PQ Corporation). The reaction was carried out in a three phase slurry reactor system under atmospheric pressure. The catalytic activity of this catalyst was found to be higher than that of the conventionally synthesized TS-1 under the same conditions. These findings can be correlated to enlarged BET surface, larger pore diameter and higher amount of mesopores in the material as well as defects of the zeolitic structure. The effects of temperature, stirring speed, molar ratio of benzene/H2O2, volume of added water, and catalyst weight on catalytic performance were investigated. Under mild conditions, such as 343 K and atmospheric pressure, an excellent overall phenol yield could be achieved over TS-PQ™.

Graphical abstractHydroxylation of benzene to phenol using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant was studied over MFI structure titanium-silica based catalyst denoted here as TS-PQTM catalyst. The catalyst showed a higher conversion compared to a well known TS-1 catalyst in three phase system. Under mild conditions, TS-PQTM exhibited excellent overall phenol yield with more than 90% H2O2 conversion to organic compounds.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide