VOPO4·2H2O encapsulated in graphene oxide as a heterogeneous catalyst for selective hydroxylation of benzene to phenol†
Abstract
A novel heterogeneous hybrid catalyst (VPO@GO) was prepared through a strong interaction between graphene oxide (GO) and exfoliated VOPO4·2H2O. V4+-rich VPO@GO can selectively oxidize benzene to phenol at 60 °C using H2O2 as the oxidant, affording 100% selectivity with a benzene conversion of ∼33% up to 5 catalytic cycles.