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.