Hydroxylation of Benzene to Phenol under Air and Carbon Monoxide Catalyzed by Molybdovanadophosphoric Acid

The simpler, the better: Phenol is synthesized by the direct oxidation of benzene under air (15 atm) and CO (10 atm) with molybdovanadophosphoric acid as the catalyst (see scheme). Activated molecular oxygen serves as the oxidant and phenol is produced in 28 % yield. The catalyst can be recovered and reused.