Co-oxidation of octane and benzaldehyde using molecular oxygen with Au–Pd/carbon prepared by sol-immobilisation

Virginie Peneau,Robert L Jenkins,Nikolaos Dimitratos,Graham J Hutchings,Greg Shaw,Michael M Forde,Simon J Freakley,Stuart H Taylor

doi:10.1039/c5cy00453e

Abstract

Oxidation of octane in the presence of benzaldehyde over a AuPd catalysts leads to the formation of octyl benzoate.

Highlights

The selective oxidation of alkanes to more valuable functionalised products, such as alcohols, aldehydes, carboxylic acids and derivatives has been well studied
A problem associated with the selective oxidation of primary C–H bonds to oxygenates, e.g. an alcohol, is that the C–H bond in the corresponding alcohol is easier to activate than that of the alkane
The second challenge is that the primary C–H bond of an alkane is more difficult to activate compared to the secondary C–H bond making terminal oxidation a challenge

Summary

Introduction

The selective oxidation of alkanes to more valuable functionalised products, such as alcohols, aldehydes, carboxylic acids and derivatives has been well studied. The effect of the addition of octane was investigated into a reaction carried out under conditions previously reported for the oxidation of toluene (160 °C, 10 bar O2, 20 h) using a 1% AuPd/C catalyst (0.2 g)[24] prepared by sol immobilisation[35] was investigated. Octane oxidation reactions were performed in the absence of benzaldehyde or catalyst present, at a range of temperatures between 50 and 120 °C under an oxygen pressure of 20 bar.

Results

Conclusion