Unusual catalytic activity of iron containing mesoporous materials for synthesis of diphenylmethane

Abstract

Mesoporous ferrosilicates with various Si/Fe mole ratios have been prepared for the Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction to synthesize diphenylmethane selectively under solvent-free reaction conditions. Mesoporous ferrosilicates (PS-1) have high BET specific surface area (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">ca.</i> 1050 m² g^-1) and ordered pore structure. The incorporation of iron into the framework of mesoporous silica is characterized and confirmed by various techniques such as XRD, N₂-sorption and FTIR. The nitrogen sorption results show that the sample with Si/Fe mole ratio of 46 possesses improved textural properties as compared with 91 and 125 mole ratios. The catalytic activity of PS-1 catalysts has been tested in the Friedel-Crafts alkylation of aromatic compound for the selective synthesis of diphenylmethane. The results of the alkylation reaction indicate that the PS-1(46) catalyst shows higher activity as compare to other mesoporous ferrosilicates prepared under similar experimental conditions.