Direct hydroxylation of benzene to phenol on Cu–V bimetal modified HMS catalysts

A series of mesoporous Cu_x–V-HMS catalysts with different copper content were prepared by the co-synthesis method. The addition of copper improves the benzene adsorption ability of the catalyst and the redox property of vanadium species, which facilitate the benzene hydroxylation reaction. Among the catalysts studied, Cu_0.90–V-HMS exhibited the best catalytic activity with a phenol yield of 29.0% compared with 20.7% over V-HMS catalyst.