Simple Fabrication of Hydrophobicity-Controlled Fe-ZSM-5 for Aqueous-Phase Partial Oxidation of Methane with Hydrogen Peroxide.

Surface hydrophobicity is an important factor in controlling the catalytic activity of heterogeneous catalysts in various reactions, particularly liquid-phase reactions using water as the (co)solvent. In this study, the surface hydrophobicity of Fe-ZSM-5 was successfully controlled using a simple coating method in which furfuryl alcohol was used as the carbon precursor. Various techniques, such as N₂ physisorption, temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia, and contact angle measurements of water droplets, were used to characterize the catalysts. Fe-ZSM-5 catalysts with different degrees of hydrophobicity were used for the aqueous-phase selective oxidation of methane with H₂O₂. The positive effect of the surface carbon coating on the catalytic performance was confirmed when the carbon content was not sufficiently high to block the pores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]