The phrase "attempted not only" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when you want to indicate that an attempt was made in multiple ways or for multiple purposes.
Example: "She attempted not only to solve the problem but also to explain it to her colleagues."
Alternatives: "tried not just" or "sought not only".
Vapor phase esterification in a chabazite (CHA) zeolite membrane reactor was attempted not only to improve the productivity but also to avoid the use of liquid strong acid.
We attempted not only to insure that the implementation of this system satisfied most requirements, but also to evaluate the impact of the system.
No sphere of information was immune, however distant from immediate political concerns; censors attempted not only to suppress material but also to mold all information at its source.
Croatia's puppet Nazi regime (NDH, or Independent State of Croatia) attempted not only to cleanse itself of "undesirable" elements such as Serbs, Jews and Roma, but also its language of "foreign" words.
He would also be in violation if he attempted not only to refrain from prosecuting violators, but to decree that they had not violated the law at all, thereby precluding future presidents from going after the perpetrators as well.
The film attempted not only an attack on an outmoded social system - the peasants have to beg land and the wherewithal for a basic education from the local landlord - but an almost mystical affirmation of the relationship of man to nature.
So trial lawyers are attempting not only to catch up, but to be a copy cat.
It was a ritualization of their courage - society reaching out attempting not only to honor but to absorb their bravery.
Brain-targeted chemical delivery systems (CDSs) represent rational drug design attempts not only to deliver but also to target drugs to their site of action.
"By encouraging more positive environments," the report stated, "such policies could help reduce the risk of suicide attempts not only among LGB students, but also among heterosexual students".
Environmental education is an eclectic set of pedagogical practices that attempt not only to change individual behaviors, but also to foster collective action, lifelong civic engagement, positive youth development, school achievement, and healthy individuals and communities.
