Preparation of Mo-Fe/SiO2 and Catalytic Selective Oxidation of p-Xylene

The preparation of Mo–Fe/SiO2 catalysts by sol-gel method, catalytic selective oxidations of p-xylene to terephthalaldehyde over the Mo–Fe/SiO2 catalyst, and the effects of the supported metal on the catalytic activities were investigated. The catalysts were characterized by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Results show that the presence of Fe enhances the catalytic performance of Mo–Fe/SiO2 on the selective oxidation of p-xylene. The addition of the optimal concentration of 15% Fe results in 53.2% conversion and 33.3% selectivity. The optimal calcination temperature of the Mo–Fe/SiO2 catalyst was 500 °C.