A Review of the Process on Vapor Phase Methylation of Phenol with Methanol

Vapor phase methylation of phenol with methanol is widely carried out to produce a variety of products such as anisole, cresols and xylenols due to their increasing application in industries. Numerous researches have been carried out to understand the mechanistic behavior of phenol methylation. Based on discussion of reaction mechanism, the present article covered methylation of phenol with methanol over various catalysts, including zeolites, metal oxides, spinel, phosphates, sulfates, hydrotalcites and others. Moreover, the influence of reaction conditions and catalyst deactivation behavior were described. Finally, this review paper gives useful insights for the future direction of phenol methylation with methanol. Graphical Abstract This review provides a summary for the process of phenol methylation with methanol: catalysts, reaction mechanism and deactivated behavior, etc.