Issue 24, 2019

Side-chain alkylation of toluene with methanol to produce styrene: an overview

Abstract

Styrene is a key building-block chemical for the production of polymers with significant application value. Producing styrene by toluene side-chain alkylation with methanol has been deemed as a potential one-step alternative to the conventional two-step route via the alkylation of benzene with ethylene and sequential hydrogenation of ethylbenzene. In recent decades, a lot of research has been conducted in order to understand the reaction mechanism of toluene side-chain alkylation. Based on the discussion of the reaction mechanism, we focused on the recent progress on catalysts and evaluated the catalytic performance in toluene side-chain alkylation. A variety of side-chain alkylation catalysts can be divided into five categories: modified X zeolite catalysts, composite zeolite catalysts, carbon-based catalysts, metal oxide catalysts and N-doped catalysts. Also, the effect of reaction conditions and catalyst deactivation were emphasized. Finally, the perspective and the future direction of toluene side-chain alkylation were presented.

Graphical abstract: Side-chain alkylation of toluene with methanol to produce styrene: an overview

Article information

Article type
Minireview
Submitted
07 Aug 2019
Accepted
01 Nov 2019
First published
04 Nov 2019

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2019,9, 6828-6840

Side-chain alkylation of toluene with methanol to produce styrene: an overview

Z. Hong, C. Xiong, G. Zhao and Z. Zhu, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2019, 9, 6828 DOI: 10.1039/C9CY01581G

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