Phenol hydroxylation over Fe and Co-loaded mesoporous MCM-48

Iron and cobalt incorporated MCM-48 molecular sieves with Si/M=40, 80 and 100 (where M is either iron or cobalt) have been synthesized using tetraethylorthosilicate as the silica source and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as template under hydrothermal conditions. Characterization of the synthesized materials were done by XRD, SEM, UV-Vis., TGA, N-2 adsorption-desorption and FTIR analysis. The XRD patterns of metal incorporated materials showed well-ordered MCM-48 structure and UV-Vis. study confirmed the sufficient incorporation of the metal ions in the tetrahedral coordination within the framework structure. The catalytic activity and selectivity of these catalysts were studied for liquid phase hydroxylation of phenol using H2O2 as oxidant. Catechol was obtained as major product whereas hydroquinone was obtained as a minor one.