4. Conclusions
In summary, we propose here a simple and general strategy to fabricate
acid-redox co-functionalized hierarchical single crystal MEL zeolites
with well-evaluated mesoporosity, in terms of surface openness, pore
interconnectivity and adsorbate-specific pore adaptability. This
strategy works well on a hierarchical MEL zeolite system that
simultaneously integrates solid acid and Fe-oxy redox sites, which
exhibits greatly enhanced catalytic activity and stability towards
benzylation of mesitylene. Mechanistic insights are provided that the
superior catalytic performance originates from the enhanced
intracrystalline molecular diffusion, mitigated metal leaching and
optimized adsorbate-pore wall interactions.