Nano-sized Silicalite-1: novel route of synthesis, metal impregnation and its application in selective oxidation of toluene

The novel route of synthesis and catalytic performance of nano-sized Silicalite-1 are presented. Nano-sized Silicalite-1 was initially obtained from a clear solution using sodium silicate as silica source and tetrapropylamonium hydroxide as a template. The effects of silica source on the product yield, purity, crystallization rate and crystallinity were investigated. Effect of seeds in the synthesis was also studied. Nucleation time decreased to 6 h from 24 h using 4% seed, with yield and crystallinity 70% and 90%, respectively. The catalyst was characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, TG, FITR and $$\hbox {N}_{2}$$ adsorption–desorption techniques. Transition metals like Fe, Cu and Mo were impregnated by wet impregnation method. Cu-impregnated nano-sized Silicalite-1 was found to be highly active for the oxidation of toluene with $$\hbox {H}_{2} \hbox {O}_{2}$$ . Synopsis Synthesis of nano-sized Silicalite-1, metal impregnation and its characterization by physicochemical technique are reported. Toluene oxidation using hydrogen peroxide and optimization of reaction parameters are explo