Physicochemical Studies and Heterogeneous Hydroxylation of Benzene on FeII, FeIII-Semicarbazone/Zeolite-Y Clathrates

Abstract

Complexes of Fe(II) and Fe(III) with semicarbazone (SALSC) derived from salicylaldehyde and semicarbazide hydrochloride have been trapped in zeolite-Y super cages using “ship-in-a-bottle technique.” The synthesized new clathrates have been structurally characterized by various physicochemical techniques, in addition to surface area and nitrogen adsorption studies. The Fe(II) and Fe(III) ions inside zeolite-Y are coordinated with SALSC ligand via the (C=N), phenolic (OH), and deprotonated enolized (C=O) groups forming mononuclear structures. The results pointed out that the lattice oxygen zeolite was involved in coordination and the intrazeolitic ferrous and ferric semicarbazone complexes have prevailing octahedral configurations with noticeable high thermal stability. The catalytic activity of the new hybrid materials was checked for hydroxylation of benzene at 80°C using H2O2 as oxidant to give phenol.