One-pot rota-crystallized hollownest-structured Ti–zeolite: a calcination-free and recyclable catalytic material

A hydrothermal rota-crystallization method is developed for the one-step synthesis of a hollownest-structured zeolite precursor with the shell composed of autogenously-intergrown MWW nanosheet crystals containing a large number of stacking-pores without using any porogen or hard scaffold. This material possesses a large external surface area. By simple acid washing, the resultant Ti-containing catalyst can be directly used in the epoxidation of alkenes with hydrogen peroxide. The excellent catalytic activity over the Ti-HSZ catalyst is assumed to be due to the exposure of more Ti active sites over the MWW nanosheet crystals in the shell of the catalyst. More importantly, this Ti-HSZ catalyst washed with H2O2/ethanol solution has been reused 6 times without an appreciable decrease in both the conversion of the allyl chloride and the selectivity of the epichlorohydrin, which is ascribed to the structural stability of the hollownest-structured zeolite.