Intrinsic kinetics of hydroxylation of phenol to catechol with TS-1 peroxide catalyst

The preparation of catechol and hydroquinone by phenol hydroxylation is one of the most effective manufactures in the world. But there was still no report about the intrinsic kinetics of hydroxylation of phenol with H₂O₂ catalyzed by TS-1. With TS-1 as catalyst the intrinsic kinetics of the reaction of phenol with H₂O₂ was investigated with the help of HPLC technique. The results show that the effect of external diffusion on reaction can be ignored when the agitation rate is above 380 r/min. The order of the reaction is 1.2 with respect to phenol and 0.53 with respect to H₂O₂. The Arrhenius parameters were determined for overall reaction: the activation energy: Ea=76.87 kJ/mol, the pre-exponential factor; A=7.58 × 10 mol^0.73/(L·min). This provides the basis for the coupling between the reaction catalyzed by TS-1 and membrane separation process and the designing of reactor.