Abstract: A new Ferrocene(Fc)-containing periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO-Fc) was synthesized directly through co-condensation of 1,1'-bis[2-(triethoxylsilyl)ethyl]ferrocene and tetraethyl orthosilicate using supramolecular templates of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as structure directing agents. A hybrid material, Fc-MCM-41, was also prepared by covalently anchoring ferrocene onto the mesoporous silica material MCM-41 using toluene as the dispersant. The prepared materials were characterized by nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that PMO-Fc had an ordered two-dimensional hexagonal mesostructure, higher BET surface area and pore volume. In the hydroxylation of benzene to phenol, PMO-Fc was highly active with 65.3% of phenol selectivity and 20.2% of phenol yield.

Key words: grafting, co-condensation, ferrocene, bridged siloxane, mesoporous material, hybrid, benzene, hydroxylation, phenol