Thermally Stable Metal(Cu, Fe)-Substituted Mesoporous Aluminophosphates: Synthesis and Application as Oxidation Catalysts

Metal-substituted mesoporous aluminophosphates with high thermal stability (Fe-JLU-50 and Cu-JLU-50) has been prepared by using preformed microporous aluminophosphate precursors. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms and FT-IR spectroscopy. The characterization results showed the presence of zeolite aluminophosphate structural building units in the framework of the mesoporous aluminophosphates, which is responsible for their highly thermal stability. Also, the metal species such as Fe and Cu were successfully incorporated in the framework of the mesoporous aluminophosphates via this approach. Fe-JLU-50 and Cu-JLU-50 were evaluated in the oxidations of phenol and trimethylphenol (TMP) with aqueous H2O2, giving highly catalytic activities in both reactions. This result suggests that the materials are versatile catalysts for both small and bulky substrates, ascribed to the accessibility of the substrates to the active sites in the framework of Fe-JLU-50 and Cu-JLU-50 by the retained mesopores after calcination.