Synthesis of Aromatic Ketones from Aromatic Compounds Using Vanadium‐Containing Mesoporous Silicates

Aromatic ketones were synthesized from aromatic compounds via liquid‐phase oxidation at 60 °C and 1 atm over vanadium‐containing MCM‐41 catalysts using a batch reactor. The catalysts were prepared by direct hydrothermal (4V‐MCM‐41) and wet impregnation (9V/MCM‐41) methods. Their physico‐chemical properties were determined with various characterization techniques. For the oxidations of all substrates in this work, 4 V‐MCM‐41 exhibits superior catalytic performance than 9 V/MCM‐41 due to its larger values of unit cell parameter, BET surface area, and vanadium dispersion as well as stronger oxidation ability of vanadium‐oxygen species. Apparently, the single site, isolated vanadium centers in 4V‐MCM‐41 possess much higher activity (based on the turnover number) than those containing more vanadium atoms in 9V/MCM‐41. In addition, the substrate activities decrease in the order of diphenylmethane > fluorene > 9,10‐dihydroanthracene > ethylbenzene ≥ 4‐nitroethylbenzene, which are attributed to their distinct molecular structures.