Catalytic activity of a microporous–mesoporous composite towards liquid phase oxidation of diphenylmethane

Abstract

Hydrothermal synthesis of a ZSM-5/MCM-41 composite has been carried out from pre-synthesized ZSM-5 zeolite as a silica source and CTAB as a template. The ZSM-5/MCM-41 composite materials were further loaded with varying wt% of cobalt with respect to ZSM-5 by an in situ modification method using cobaltous nitrate as a metal source. Detailed analysis of the synthesized materials was performed using different characterization techniques such as PXRD, FT-IR, TGA, UV-Vis DRS, N₂ adsorption–desorption and SEM-EDX. The catalytic activity of the synthesized materials for liquid phase oxidation of diphenylmethane was investigated in the presence of 70% TBHP as an oxidant where benzophenone was obtained as a major product. The effects of various reaction parameters were studied to perceive the conversion of diphenylmethane and enhance the selectivity towards benzophenone.