Enhancement of catalytic performance in the benzylation of benzene with benzyl alcohol over hierarchical mordenite

Hierarchical mordenites were prepared by a sequential post-treatment method based on a commercial mordenite with a Si/Al molar ratio of 15. The mordenite obtained by acid treatment showed much higher catalytic activity than the parent mordenite in the benzylation of benzene with benzyl alcohol, even a little better than that obtained by acid–base treatment. The apparent reaction rate constant for acid-leached mordenite is six times higher than that for HM. Further, the mordenite with acid–base–acid treatment exhibited the highest catalytic activity among these samples. The apparent reaction rate constant for acid–base–acid-leached mordenite is 15 times that for HM and twice that for acid-leached mordenite and acid–base-leached mordenite. This remarkably enhanced catalytic performance should be attributed to more accessible acid sites and much better mass transfer ability from rich mesoporosity in acid–base–acid-leached mordenite.