Catalytic conversion of 4-tert-butylphenol in hydrogen peroxide solutions in the presence of titanium oxide compounds and titanosilicates

Abstract

The catalytic conversion of 4-tert-butylphenol (TBP) in hydrogen peroxide solutions in the presence of titanium oxide samples with different phase compositions and crystalline and amorphous titanosilicate samples has been studied. It has been shown that microporous crystalline titanosilicate TS-1 exhibits low activity in the TBP conversion owing to steric restrictions to the diffusion of the substrate molecules to catalytically active sites. The samples of titanium oxide compounds and mesoporous titanosilicates exhibit similar activity, while the selectivity of the latter for 4-tert-butylcatechol (TBC) is higher. The effect of the mesoporous titanosilicate concentration in the reaction mixture and the test temperature and duration on the TBP conversion and the TBC selectivity has been determined.