Direct Oxidation of Benzene to Phenol Catalyzed by Vanadium Substituted Heteropolymolybdic Acid

Direct synthesis of phenol by hydroxylation of benzene with H₂O₂ over the vanadium-substituted heteropolymolybdic acid catalyst was investigated at 70 °C. H₂O₂ was used as an oxidant while 36 wt.% MeCO₂H was employed as the solvent. After 100 min the selectivity for phenol was 93% and the yield of PhOH was 10.1%. The catalyst was characterized by elemental analysis, thermal gravimetric analysis, infrared spectroscopy, u.v.–vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and ³¹P-n.m.r. and ⁵¹V-n.m.r. techniques. The experimental conditions such as reaction temperature, the amounts of H₂O₂ and catalyst were explored. The as-prepared phenol could be separated by column chromatography and was characterized by infrared and mass spectrometry.