A series of Fe–Ti incorporated-SBA-15 and MCM-41 has been synthesized using different heteroatom sources and characterized by using XRD, N2-adsorption, HRTEM, ICP, FT-IR, and UV–vis techniques. Catalytic performances of the obtained materials were evaluated in the hydroxylation of styrene with H2O2. Results indicated that (a) all samples exhibited typical hexagonal arrangement of mesoporous structure with high surface areas, (b) the kinds of heteroatoms sources had a significant effect on the heteroatom contents in the samples, i.e. there was a strong interaction between Ti and Fe species in the synthesis procedure, and (c) catalytic results revealed that the selectivity of benzaldehyde and the conversion of styrene were controlled by the contents of Fe and Ti species in the samples, respectively. An appropriate nTi/nFe ratio in catalysts could approach the optimal catalytic performance.Graphical abstractThe kinds of titanium/iron sources had a significant effect on their contents in the mesoporous silica and the selectivity of benzaldehyde and the conversion of styrene were controlled by the contents of Fe and Ti species in the samples, respectively.Highlights► A series of Fe–Ti modified SBA-15 and MCM-41 were synthesized using different heteroatom sources. ► The kinds of heteroatoms sources had a significant effect on the heteroatom contents in the samples. ► Fe and Ti species in the material played different role in the hydroxylation of styrene by H2O2.

A series of Fe-MCM41s with different iron content have been synthesized and characterized by XRD, BET, HRTEM, FT-IR, UV–vis and ICP techniques. Their catalytic performances for the direct hydroxylation of phenol were also studied. Results indicated that the mesoporous structure did not collapse until the Fe/Si molar ratio reached up to 0.20. The iron species were mainly in the framework with isolated tetrahedral coordination as Fe/Si molar ratio was smaller than 0.091 and micro-crystals of Fe2O3 were detected when iron content increased further. The prepared samples exhibited excellent catalytic activities for the direct hydroxylation of phenol by hydrogen peroxide at room temperature, which increased with iron content in the framework of MCM41 and did not decline after being recycled 6 times. As Fe/Si molar ratio increased to more than 0.091, the catalytic activity decreased gradually with iron content due to the covering of some active sites, i.e., the incorporated iron species with tetrahedral coordination, by the accumulated Fe2O3 on the surface of the catalyst.

MCM41s incorporated with bimetallic copper and titanium were first synthesized by hydrolyzed the mixed solutions of sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3), cuprammonia (Cu(NH3)4(NO3)2) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) with diluted sulphuric acid containing titanium sulfate (Ti(SO4)2). The samples were characterized by using XRD, FT-IR, N2 adsorption isotherms, UHRTEM, TG–DTA and ICP techniques. It was revealed an ordered hexagonal structure, a narrow pore distribution, high surface area and relatively high thermal stability of the prepared materials. Some structure parameters of the samples varied linearly with the total heteroatoms content. All the characterization results indicated that the atoms of Cu and Ti might be incorporated into the framework of MCM41.