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Construction of Acid–Base Synergetic Sites on Mg‐bearing BEA Zeolites Triggers the Unexpected Low‐Temperature Alkylation of Phenol
Author(s) -
Xie Jingyan,
Zhuang Wenxia,
Zhang Wei,
Yan Ning,
Zhou Yu,
Wang Jun
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemcatchem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.497
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1867-3899
pISSN - 1867-3880
DOI - 10.1002/cctc.201601127
Subject(s) - alkylation , bifunctional , phenol , chemistry , zeolite , catalysis , microporous material , selectivity , methanol , regioselectivity , phenols , organic chemistry , aluminosilicate
Abstract Novel Mg‐bearing BEA zeolites are synthesized to simultaneously endow significantly enhanced basicity without compromising acidity over the zeolite framework. Serving as efficient solid acid–base bifunctional catalysts, they achieve the liquid‐phase selective methylation of phenol with methanol to produce o ‐ and p ‐cresol ( o / p= 2) under mild conditions. The method is readily extendable to the alkylation of phenols with various alcohols. Stereo‐ and regioselectivity (>95 % for p ‐product) was attained on the alkylation of phenol with bulky tert ‐butyl alcohol, rendering the first acid–base cooperative shape‐selective catalysis relying on the basicity of zeolites. A preliminary mechanistic analysis reveals that the remarkable activity and shape‐selectivity come from the superior special acidic–basic synergetic catalytic sites on the uniform microporous channels of the BEA zeolite.