Enhanced ortho-selective t–butylation of phenol over sulfonic acid functionalized mesopore MTW zeolites

Novel organo-inorganic hybrid materials (MTW-x-SO3H) have been fabricated by immobilizing 3-mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane onto mesopore MTW zeolites, which is treated via a simple oxidation process with hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant to transform sulfhydryl group into sulfonic acid group. The organic sulfhydryl groups are covalently bonded to the external surface of MTW zeolites through the condensation between siloxane arising from organic fragments with silanol groups on the surface of MTW zeolites, the hybrids contain sulfonic acid group within the external surface of MTW zeolites and an opened mesoporous system in the matrix of MTW zeolites, which provide enough accessible Brønsted acid sites for the alkylation between phenol with tert-butyl alcohol. Through this methodology it’s possible to prepare multifunctional materials where the plenty of mesopores are benefit for the introduction of larger numbers of sulfonic acid groups that contributes to activity during reactions, resulting in high activity (>55%) of MTW-4-SO3H and desired selectivity (>56%) of 2-TBP (2-tert-butyl phenol) in the alkylation between phenol with tert-butyl alcohol.