Vanadia supported on mesoporous carbon nitride as a highly efficient catalyst for hydroxylation of benzene to phenol

Mesostructured V/mp-C3N4 catalysts were prepared using NH4VO3 as a precursor and mesoporous carbon nitride as a support through a wet impregnation method. A series of techniques, including N-2 adsorption-desorption, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra, temperature-programmed desorption, etc., were employed to characterize physicochemical properties of the synthesized catalysts. In the hydroxylation of benzene to phenol in the presence of H2O2, the V/mp-C3N4 materials showed remarkable catalytic performance, affording a maximum phenol yield of 18% at 60 degrees C, superior to the previously reported C3N4-based catalytic systems in terms of their TOF values. The catalytic activity of V/mp-C3N4 is attributed to high benzene-activation capability of mp-C3N4 and dispersion of vanadia species.