A One-Step Selective Oxidation of Benzene to Phenol over CuCr2O4 Spinel Nanoparticles Catalyst with Air as Oxidant

in presence of the cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and hydrazine. Detailed characterization of the material was carried out by XRD, BET, ICP-AES, SEM and TEM. XRD revealed the exclusive formation of CuCr 2 O 4 spinel phase and TEM showed the formation of 30–50 nm particle size. The catalyst was highly active for selective oxidation of benzene to phenol with air as oxidant. Influence of reaction parameters were investigated in detail. The advantages of the reaction lie behind its simplicity, low-cost set up and less time consumption. Keywords: CuCr 2 O 4 spinel, selective hydroxylation, benzene, phenol, air