La-Cu based heterogeneous perovskite catalyst for highly selective benzene hydroxylation under mild conditions

Direct hydroxylation of benzene towards phenol with high conversion and selectivity remains a great challenge. We report herein an efficient La2CuO4 perovskite catalyst for one-step oxidation of benzene using hydrogen peroxide under mild conditions. The catalyst was characterized using XRD, TEM, XPS, TG-DTA, and other advanced techniques. The one-pot hydroxylation reaction carried out at 60 degrees C under optimum reaction conditions in the presence of catalytic material shows benzene to phenol transformation with 51% conversion with >99% selectivity with 65 percent peroxide efficiency, respectively. The influence of reaction conditions such as temperature, amount of oxidant, reaction time and mode of addition of the oxidant was crucial in selectivity optimization.

Automated summary

In this study, an efficient La2CuO4 perovskite catalyst was used for one-step oxidation of benzene to phenol under mild conditions, showing high efficiency and selectivity. The adjustment of reaction conditions was crucial for optimizing selectivity of the product.