Zinc-containing mesoporous silicas as a catalyst for the benzylation of benzene and other aromatics by benzyl chloride

The benzylation of benzene and the substituted benzenes reaction employing benzyl chloride as the alkylating agent over a series of zinc-containing mesoporous silicas with different Zn contents have been investigated. These materials (Zn-HMS-n) have been characterized by chemical analysis, BET, and XRD. The mesoporous zinc-containing materials showed both high activity and high selectivity for benzylation of benzene. The activity of these catalysts for the benzylation of different aromatic compounds is in the following order: benzene > toluene > p-xylene > anisole. The kinetics of the benzene benzylation over these catalysts has also been investigated. Published in Russian in Kinetika i Kataliz, 2007, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 421–425.