Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2025, Vol. 79: 127-147.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(25)64822-4

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Hierarchical manganese-containing TS-1 zeolite for the direct oxidation of cyclohexane to adipic acid with molecular oxygen: Synergy between matrix Ti and Mn species

Mingdong Zhang, Xueshuang Wu, Guiying Li(), Changwei Hu()   

  1. Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ministry of Education, National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Energy Plant Biofuel Preparation and Utilization, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, Sichuan, China
  • Received:2025-05-01 Accepted:2025-07-31 Online:2025-12-05 Published:2025-10-27
  • Contact: Guiying Li, Changwei Hu
  • Supported by:
    111 Cetner(B17030);Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(CWH)

Abstract:

The direct oxidation of cyclohexane to adipic acid (AA) without the use of HNO3 is important but still challenging. Herein, hierarchical manganese-containing TS-1 zeolite (HMTS) was prepared using an improved direct synthesis method, in which titanium and manganese coexist within the zeolite matrix, as characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet, extended X-ray absorption fine structure etc. The introduction of matrix Mn species (Mn3+, Mn4+) not only increased the surface oxygen vacancies, but also generated medium-strong acid sites, which endowed HMTS catalysts with the ability to efficiently activate oxygen and facilitate substrate coordination. On HMTS-3, one-pot oxidation of cyclohexane at 140 °C and 2 MPa O2 gave 81.6% conversion and 71.5% AA selectivity, the highest value obtained at present. Control experiments with single-component samples confirmed that matrix Ti4+ catalyzed the conversion of cyclohexane to a mixture of cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol (KA oil), and matrix Mn favored the conversion of KA oil to AA. The synergy between matrix Ti and Mn inside the hierarchical structure were the key factor for the superior activity. Specifically, the matrix Ti4+ might activate oxygen to form Ti-O22- which facilitated the activation of the C-H bond of cyclohexane. The activation of O2 on matrix Mn3+ formed Mn4+-O2- favoring the breaking of the C-C bond of cyclohexanone. The hierarchical structure not only exposed more active sites and promoted mass transfer, but also provided a better microenvironment for the matrix Mn to synergize with the matrix Ti, which facilitated the overall reaction. This work demonstrated the practical application potential of HMTS and provided useful insights into the direct oxidation of cyclohexane to AA.

Key words: Cyclohexane oxidation, Matrix Mn species, Hierarchical TS-1 zeolite, Synergic effect, O2 oxidation, Adipic acid