One-pot synthesis of ordered mesoporous transition metal–zirconium oxophosphate composites with excellent textural and catalytic properties

Abstract

A series of ordered mesoporous transition metal–zirconium oxophosphate composites (M–X–ZrPO, X = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) were designed and synthesized via a facile and general one-pot evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method. N₂-physisorption and TEM characterization showed that all the final materials possessed ordered mesoporous structure accompanied by large specific surface area (170–220 m² g⁻¹), big pore volume (0.2–0.4 cm³ g⁻¹) and uniform pore size (5.6–7.8 nm). Moreover, the introduced transition metals homogeneously dispersed in the mesoporous skeleton and effectively improved the mesostructure. The catalytic performance of M–X–ZrPO was evaluated in the liquid phase oxidation of ethylbenzene. The introduced transition metals obviously enhanced the catalytic performance of M–ZrPO. M–Mn–ZrPO showed excellent catalytic activity with 91.6% conversion of ethylbenzene and 87.0% selectivity of acetophenone. After five cycles, there was no notable decrease in catalytic activity. Therefore, it was a promising catalyst for the oxidation of ethylbenzene.