Titanium silicates catalytic reactions

In some reports, the presence of the two forms of titanium has been described as arising from two types of sites identified as isolated titanium framework sites and Ti02 particles, and the reactions have been attributed to the catalytic activity of one or the other phase (Huybrechts et al., 1992). Since it is possible to obtain pure phase titanium silicates, it seems preferable to identify the Ti02 phase as an impurity. 

Because the oxidation of phenol is sensitive to the purity of the titanium silicate catalyst, it has been used as a test reaction to evaluate the purity of the catalytic materials. A standard material called EURO TS-1 has recently been prepared and evaluated in several laboratories (Martens et al., 1993). 

Investigation of mechanisms of reactions catalyzed by titanium silicates has been limited to oxidation reactions with H202 as the oxidant, as described below. As was previously discussed, elements different from titanium and silicon in the catalyst materials change their properties. Catalytic activity of doubly substituted materials such as Ti-beta, H[Al,Ti]-MFI and -MEL, and H[Fe,Ti]-MFI and -MEL is considered separately because the acidic properties associated with the added element affect the composition of the reaction products. 

The discovery of the new titanium silicates and of their catalytic properties in H2O2 oxidation reactions has had a major impact in catalytic science and its industrial applications. One 10,000 ton/year plant for the production of catechol and hydroquinone has been operating since 1986 with excellent results. Moreover, successful tests conducted on a 12,000-ton/year pilot plant for cyclohexanone ammoximation (Notari, 1993b) could be followed soon by an industrial-size plant that would greatly simplify the synthesis of caprolactam. Both these examples are clear indications of the potentials of the new oxidation chemistry made possible by the new materials. 

The incorporation of Ti into various framework zeolite structures has been a very active research area, particularly during the last 6 years, because it leads to potentially useful catalysts in the oxidation of various organic substrates with diluted hydrogen peroxide [1-7]. The zeolite structures, where Ti incorporation has been achieved are ZSM-5 (TS-1) [1], ZSM-11 (TS-2) [2] ZSM-48 [3] and beta [4]. Recently, mesoporous titanium silicates Ti-MCM-41 and Ti-HMS have also been reported [5]. TS-1 and TS-2 were found to be highly active and selective catalysts in various oxidation reactions [6,7]. All other Ti-modified zeolites and molecular sieves had limited but interesting catalytic activities. For example, Ti-ZSM-48 was found to be inactive in the hydroxylation of phenol [8]. Ti-MCM-41 and Ti-HMS catalyzed the oxidation of very bulky substrates like 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol, norbomylene and a-terpineol [5], but they were found to be inactive in the oxidation of alkanes [9a], primary amines [9b] and the ammoximation of carbonyl compounds [9a]. As for Ti-P, it was found to be active in the epoxidation of alkenes and the oxidation of alkanes and alcohols [10], even though the conversion of alkanes was very low. Davis et al. [11,12] also reported that Ti-P had limited oxidation and epoxidation activities. In a recent investigation, we found that Ti-P had a turnover number in the oxidation of propyl amine equal to one third that of TS-1 and TS-2 [9b]. As seen, often the difference in catalytic behaviors is not attributable to Ti sites accessibility. 

In green oxidation reactions, zeolite TS-1 is the typical catalyst. Since the size of its channels ranges from 5 to 6 A, TS-1 can be used as the catalyst only for benzene and phenol conversion. However, ordered mesoporous titanium silicate materials have pores large enough for the catalytic reactions of bulkier molecules, and this is very important for the production of fine chemicals. For example, for the oxidation reaction of terpineol, Ti-MCM-41 performs much better than do microporous titanium silicate molecular sieves as a catalyst.1-291... 

The catalysts used in the aforementioned studies were always titanium silicates of MFI structure prepared by hydrothermal synthesis. Ti can, however, be inserted in the silica lattice by post-synthesis treatment of a dealuminated H-ZSM-5 with TiCl4 vapor [11]. Titanium silicalite-2 (TS-2), with the MEL structure of ZSM-11, was prepared shortly after the first synthesis of TS-1 [15]. Both catalysts have been used for the hydroxylation of phenol. Kraushaar-Czarnetzki and van Hooff showed that no major catalytic differences resulted from the method of synthesis of TS-1 [11]. The slow rate of reaction they observed was probably the result of large crystal size and low titanium content [7]. Tuel and Ben Taarit demonstrated there was no perceptible difference between the catalytic activity of TS-2 and TS-1 [8]. This was predictable, because of the close similarity of the Ti-site structure, chemical composition, and pore dimensions of the two titanium silicates. 

The vanadium silicalites (with MFI and MEL stmcture) are active oxidation catalyst in gas and liquid phase reactions [180]. As for the titanium silicalites, only the ftamework associated vandium exhibits redox properties [181]. For example, in the hydroxylation of phenol, silicalite impregnated with vanadium compounds is catalytically inactive [182]. The catalytically active vanadium species is speculated to be located in non-tetrahedral positions, most probably chemically bound to the framework. Vanadium bound in that way is not extractable from the lattice [ 183]. A proposed stmcture of the vanadium site is schematically shown in Scheme 21. Note that the Si-O-V bonds are longer than the Si-O-Ti bonds and that V seems to be more exposed. The redox properties are affiliated with the changes in the oxidation state of vanadium between +IV and +V. Vanadium silicates with SiA ratios ranging from 40 to 160 have been reported and these high values suggest (in accordance with V MAS-NMR measurements) that the V sites are isolated in the lattice. 

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