Oxyfunctionalisation of toluene with activated t-butyl hydroperoxide

Oxyfunctionalisation of toluene with activated t-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) was studied in the liquid phase over Ti(IV) supported on NaY zeolite (Ti-NaY), silylated Ti-NaY (Sil-Ti-NaY), silica-supported titanium isopropoxide (Si-Ti(OiPr) and silylated silica-supported Ti(OiPr) {Sil-Si-Ti(OiPr)}at 30 and 80°C.

Increase in temperature increased the TBHP conversion, and increase in the catalyst loading increased both conversion and high selectivity to benzaldehyde and benzyl alcohol. Though Ti-NaY gave high selectivity to benzaldehyde at 30°C, the conversion was less. Silylated catalysts gave higher conversion than their parents, suggesting the importance of hydrophobicity for this reaction.

The order of activity of the catalysts with respect to conversion at 30 and 80°C for 12h of the title reaction is Sil-Si-Ti(OiPr) > Si-Ti-NaY>Si-Ti(OiPr) ≈ Ti-NaY.