Process for the liquid phase selective hydroxylation of benzene

摘要

The present invention provides an improved process for the liquid phase selective hydroxylation of benzene. The process provides a direct single step selective liquid phase hydroxylation of benzene to phenol using environment friendly green oxidant, hydrogen peroxide, and vanadyl pyrophosphate as the catalyst under mild reaction conditions. The process provides benzene conversion of 30-70% and selectivity for phenol of up to 100%.