Hydrothermal Synthesis of Copper‐Containing Pure‐Silica MTW Zeolite and Efficient Catalytic Performance for Phenol Hydroxylation

The direct hydroxylation of phenol with hydrogen peroxide and catalysts is an atom‐economical method. Copper‐containing zeolites were found to be efficient catalysts in phenol hydroxylation. However, the presence of framework aluminum sites (acidic centers) in these copper‐containing zeolites limits their application in phenol hydroxylation, as the acidic centers could accelerate the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. In this work, we successfully synthesized a series of novel copper‐containing pure‐silica MTW zeolites (Cu‐MTW), which was verified to be a highly efficient catalyst in phenol hydroxylation. The optimal catalyst, Cu‐MTW‐120, exhibited superior catalytic performance, achieving a TON of 334 and a turnover frequency of 56 h −1 . Remarkably, the Cu‐MTW zeolite‐mediated phenol hydroxylation process achieved a higher phenol conversion of 41% and dihydroxybenzene selectivity of 99%, respectively.