Hydroxylation of phenol over surface functionalized MCM-41 supported metal catalyst

FeCl2 and 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (ATMS) were grafted on Si-MCM-41. FeCl2, FeCl3, FePc(II) and FePc(III)Cl were also grafted with ATMS coupled Si-MCM-41, whose catalytic activities were evaluated by performing hydroxylation of phenol with H Or. These chemically modified Fe-containing samples were characterized by FT-IR. When the FeCl2/Si-MCM-41 is;sed, the phenol conversion reveals about 16.5%. ATMS coupled Fe-containing Si-MCM-41 catalysts improve phenol conversion by 1.5-2 times and decrease the formation of benzoquinone remarkably, while catechol/hydroquinone is in the range of 2-3.5. The redox behavior between Fe(II) and Fe(III) is discussed based on ESR spectroscopy. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.