Facile synthesis and characterization of 12-tungstophosphoric acid anchoring MCM-41 mesoporous materials

HPW-MCM-41 mesoporous materials were firstly prepared via introducing 12-tungstophosphoric acid (HPW) into MCM-41 with an open synthesis process. The characterization results indicated that the materials retained the mesoporous structure of MCM-41 and bulk HPW was highly dispersed into MCM-41. Catalytic tests showed that HPW-MCM-41 exhibited good catalytic properties for the oxidation of benzaldehyde to benzoic acid with aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution, in the absence of any organic solvent and co-catalysts. The sample containing 10 wt% HPW with larger surface area and pore volume was found to be more active than the others under the same reaction conditions. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.