One-Step Benzene Hydroxylation with Copper Oxide Supported on Activated Red Mud Catalyst

One-step selective oxidation of benzene to phenol is a long-standing challenge for researchers. A new catalyst made using copper-supported activated red mud was synthesized to convert benzene into phenol in a single-step hydroxylation process with H₂O₂ acting as an oxidant. The catalyst has been thoroughly characterized using a variety of techniques, including FT-IR, XRD, XPS, TEM, and BET analysis, and the properties of the catalyst were thoroughly examined. Remarkably, under optimal reaction conditions at 70 °C in the presence of the Cu@ARM catalyst, the one-pot hydroxylation reaction resulted in a 96% conversion rate with 98% selectivity toward phenol. Among the other various conventional copper-impregnated catalysts used, they showed lesser conversion compared to Cu@ARM due to the leaching and less dispersed nature of copper on different supports. Additionally, it was discovered that the catalyst exhibits genuine heterogeneity, as evidenced by its sustained activity across five consecutive recycling trials without any notable loss in performance. This work demonstrated significant efficiency in the conversion process using a hydrothermally synthesized catalyst (Cu@ARM) in comparison to other catalysts.