Direct Hydroxylation of Benzene to Phenols via VO x @HZSM‐5 Catalysts

Abstract The production of phenol through the direct hydroxylation of benzene has been widely adopted as a green and sustainable chemical process. However, the challenging stabilization of benzene rings and deep oxidation of phenol in this system have always posed significant research obstacles. At the same time, the conventional catalyst, which involves the loading of vanadium metal on a carrier, suffers from the issue of catalyst activity center loss. Therefore, the strategy of encapsulating vanadium nanoparticles into HZSM‐5 zeolite was adopted to prepare the VO x @HZSM‐5 catalyst. This approach takes advantage of the rigid and stable structure of the zeolite crystal, as well as the electrostatic interaction between the added cationic polymer and the anionic vanadium metal, to successfully introduce vanadium nanoparticles into the zeolite crystal. Additionally, the catalyst was successfully synthesized using the low‐flow steam assisted method, resulting in a benzene conversion rate of 38.7% and a phenol selectivity of 99.8%.