Co,K-Supported Hexagonal Mesoporous Silicas for Catalytic Oxidation of 4-t-Butyltoluene

Co,K-Supported hexagonal mesoporous silicas（HMS） have been prepared by incipient wetness impregnation with cobalt acetate tetrahydrate and potassium acetate as metal precursors, and ethylene glycol as impregnation solvent. The products have been characterized via powder X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms and diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectroscopy. The divalent cobalt with a tetrahedral oxygen coordination exists mainly in the calcined samples. The catalytic properties have been tested for the oxidation of 4-t-butyltoluene with dioxygen in liquid phase at mild conditions. The products offered good catalytic activities in the oxidation reactions. Co-K-HMS catalyst with loading 4% Co and 2% K（mass fraction） affords a higher yield（22.4%） of 4-t-butylbenzaldehyde at a conversion of 28.3% under the reaction conditions. Adding a proper amount of potassium in Co-HMS results in an improvement catalytic activity and stability.