Cu functionalized nano crystalline ZSM-5 as efficient catalyst for selective oxidation of toluene

Nano crystalline ZSM-5 (NZ) functionalized with Cu has been explored for the selective oxidation of toluene to benzoic acid for the first time, where a comparison is made with the traditional microcrystalline ZSM-5 (MZ) based catalyst having similar framework Si/Al ratios at organic solvent-less reaction conditions in presence of H₂O₂ as a green oxidant. The ZSM-5 catalysts exhibited oxidation property even in the absence of any Cu species, but with low toluene conversions and benzoic acid yields. Functionalization with Cu greatly enhanced the benzoic acid formation, especially on NZ loaded with 0.4 wt% of Cu (Cu-NZ) to produce 92 wt% of benzoic acid, by virtue of the presence of highly dispersed nano particles of CuO along with Cu⁺² ions on the high surface area, mesopore possessing NZ support, revealed from XRD, N₂ adsorption-desorption, XPS, SEM, TEM, FITR, TPR and TPD analysis.