One-pot synthesis of ordered mesoporous transition metal-zirconium oxophosphate composites with excellent textural and catalytic properties

A series of ordered mesoporous transition metal-zirconium oxophosphate composites (M-X-ZrPO, X = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) were designed and synthesized via a facile and general one-pot evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method. N-2-physisorption and TEM characterization showed that all the final materials possessed ordered mesoporous structure accompanied by large specific surface area (170-220 m(2) g(-1)), big pore volume (0.2-0.4 cm(3) g(-1)) and uniform pore size (5.6-7.8 nm). Moreover, the introduced transition metals homogeneously dispersed in the mesoporous skeleton and effectively improved the mesostructure. The catalytic performance of M-X-ZrPO was evaluated in the liquid phase oxidation of ethylbenzene. The introduced transition metals obviously enhanced the catalytic performance of M-ZrPO. M-Mn-ZrPO showed excellent catalytic activity with 91.6% conversion of ethylbenzene and 87.0% selectivity of acetophenone. After five cycles, there was no notable decrease in catalytic activity. Therefore, it was a promising catalyst for the oxidation of ethylbenzene.