Oxidation of mono- and bicyclic aromatic compounds with hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by titanium silicalites TS-1 and TS-1B

The hydroxylation of a series of oxygenated aromatic compounds (phenols and ethers) with hydrogen peroxide, catalyzed by titanium silicalite TS-1 and a new catalyst TS-1B, was investigated operating in a biphasic reaction medium.In several cases, the reaction afforded phenols with fairly good selectivity. TS-1B is often a better catalyst than the conventional TS-1, displaying higher selectivity on hydrogen peroxide and also higher shape selectivity. So it appears to have some potential in the direct synthesis of selected phenols, in alternative to the conventional multi-step methods.

Graphical abstractThe hydroxylation of a series of mono- and bicyclic aromatic substrates with hydrogen peroxide was investigated using titanium silcalite TS-1 and a new catalyst (TS-1B) obtained by post-synthesis modification of TS-1. In most cases, TS-1B showed a better selectivity to the corresponding phenols, with respect to the conventional TS-1. Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide