Efficient Oxidation of 2,3,6-Trimethyl Phenol using Non-Exchanged and H + Exchanged Manganese Oxide Octahedral Molecular Sieves (K-OMS-2 and H–K-OMS-2) as Catalysts

A new and efficient oxidation process of 2,3,6-trimethyl phenol to 2,3,6-trimethyl benzoquinone (TMQ) is reported forthwith using non-exchanged and H + -exchanged manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieves (K-OMS-2 and H–K-OMS-2) as benign catalysts. The oxidation reaction is efficiently carried out using TBHP as oxidant and with catalytic amounts of OMS-2 achieving >95% conversion with excellent selectivity (~99%) to TMQ in 30 min. Graphical Abstract