Catalytic Activity and Structure Properties of Doped VOHPO4 ·0.5H2O with Nanosized Ru, Au, Fe and Mn in Benzene Hydroxylation

Abstract

The promotional effect of nanosized Ru, Fe, Au, and Mn particles on VOHPO(sub4) ·0.5H(sub2)O (VHP) catalytic properties was investigated in benzene hydroxylation reaction using hydrogen hydroperoxide (H(sub2)O(sub2) as oxidant. Catalytic results indicated a profound effect of the nanoparticle dopants on VHP catalyst activity and products distribution. Amongst the promoted VHP catalysts, Au/VHP exhibited high catalytic effect with benzene conversion of 76% at a combined 85.5% selectivity toward the formation of phenol and hydroquinone achieved in 6 h under optimised reaction conditions. The extended scope application of nanosized doped Au-VHP showed to provide an effective catalyst for activation of the aromatic hydrocarbons C-H bonds into oxygenate derivatives. The catalyst could be re-used for several cycles with insignificant loss of activity. The doped nanosized Au-VHP catalyst provide a clean promising catalytic route based on heterogeneous catalysis for transformation of aromatics into value-added oxygenates.