Direct hydroxylation of benzene to phenol on Cu–V bimetal modified HMS catalysts

•Cux–V-HMS with different copper content was prepared by the co-synthesis method.•Cux–V-HMS shows stronger benzene adsorption and better redox ability than V-HMS.•Cu0.90–V-HMS shows high catalytic performance in benzene hydroxylation to phenol.

A series of mesoporous Cux–V-HMS catalysts with different copper content were prepared by the co-synthesis method. The addition of copper improves the benzene adsorption ability of the catalyst and the redox property of vanadium species, which facilitate the benzene hydroxylation reaction. Among the catalysts studied, Cu0.90–V-HMS exhibited the best catalytic activity with a phenol yield of 29.0% compared with 20.7% over V-HMS catalyst.

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