HYDROXYLATION OF PHENOL WITH HYDROGEN-PEROXIDE ON EUROTS-1 CATALYST

The catalytic performance of a standard titanium molecular sieve catalyst, EUROTS-1, has been evaluated at four European universities. The hydroxylation of phenol into catechol and hydroquinone with aqueous H2O2 solution was selected as catalytic test reaction. The use of standard EUROTS-1 catalyst permitted to establish a reproducible standard reaction procedure. The calcination conditions of the catalyst, the use of internal standards, and the nature and the amount of the solvent added to the reaction mixture were found to be major factors determining phenol conversion, product selectivity and hydrogen peroxide product yield.