Heterogeneous Pd catalyst for mild solvent-free oxidation of benzyl alcohol

• Published in: Journal of molecular catalysis. A, Chemical Chemical, 2016-12, Vol.425, p.61-67
• Main Authors: Li, Yingying, Huang, Jiale, Hu, Xijun, Lam, Frank Leung-Yuk, Wang, Wenju, Luque, Rafael
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Low temperature benzyl alcohol oxidation; No external base; Reusable catalyst; Solvent-free
• ISSN: 1381-1169; 1873-314X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.molcata.2016.09.030

[Display omitted] •Selective oxidation of BzOH to BzH at conditions of solvent-free, molecular oxygen-based oxidants, and without additional bases under lower temperature and atmospheric pressure.•The catalyst was magnetically separable.•The catalyst could be reused without reactivation. A magnetically separable catalyst was designed for the production of value-added benzaldehyde. Palladium (Pd) nanoparticles supported on iron-doped SBA-15 (MagSBA) were fabricated and applied as heterogeneous catalyst for solvent-free oxidation of benzyl alcohol using molecular oxygen under atmospheric pressure without external base. The developed Pd/MagSBA showed excellent catalytic performance at comparatively low temperature range of 70–90°C. The catalyst made the oxidation of BzOH milder, purification simpler and less pollution caused. Effects of the palladium loadings, reaction temperature, and stirring rates on their catalytic activity of benzaldehyde conversion were studied. It was found that the designed catalysts were recoverable by simple magnetic separation and were reusable without significant loss of catalytic activity. In addition, the reaction kinetics of the catalytic oxidation was investigated, showing that the reaction was zero order and the calculated activation energy was 50.08kJ/mol.