Karuehanon W, Sirathanyarote C, Pattarawarapan M * Chiang Mai University, Thailand
Poly(4-vinylpyridine-
co-divinylbenzene) Supported Iron(III) Catalyst for Selective Oxidation of Toluene to
Benzoic Acid with H
2O
2
.
Tetrahedron 2012;
68: 9423-9428
Key words
catalysis - iron - oxidation
Significance
Poly(4-vinylpyridine-co-divinylbenzene)-supported iron(III) catalysts bearing different amounts (2–50%) of
DVB cross-linker [Fe(III)-PVPDVB2–50%] were prepared and applied to the oxidation of toluene with hydrogen peroxide (73.0–89.7%
conversion, 88.3–91.2% selectivity to benzoic acid). The polymer-supported catalyst
containing 10% DVB [Fe(III)-PVPDVB10%] led to the selective oxidation of toluene to benzoic acid in 90% conversion with
up to 96% selectivity under optimized conditions.
Comment
The catalytic activity of reused Fe(III)-PVPDVB10% decreased due to leaching of iron ions from the polymer support. No oxidation of
toluene occurred in the absence of the polymer-supported iron catalysts or in the
presence of iron-free PVPDVB. The toluene oxidation with the homogeneous counterpart,
FeCl3·H2O, resulted in lower substrate conversion (<58%), while the reaction selectivity was
as high as with the polymeric catalyst (92%).
