Silica-metalloporphyrins hybrid materials: preparation and catalysis to hydroxylate cyclohexane with molecular oxygen

Three types of novel silica-metalloporphyrins hybrid materials, Si-S-APTCPPFe, Si-S-APTCPPMn and Si-S-APTCPPCo, were prepared at room temperature by sol–gel method involving a thiol-ene polymerization reaction of 5-(4-allyloxy)phenyl-10,15,20-tri(4-chlorophenyl)porphyrin (APTCPP) with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS). The hybrid materials were characterized by XRD, SEM, FT–IR, UV–Vis and TG, and were investigated as catalysts for the aerobic oxidation of cyclohexane. It is found that these hybrid materials are more efficient catalysts than the analogous non-supported metalloporphyrins for cyclohexane hydroxylation in metalloporphyrin–O2–ascrobate system and the metal ion in the porphyrins significantly affected the catalytic efficiencies of these hybrid materials.