Selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde over CoFe2O4 nanocatalyst

Abstract

Co/Fe bimetallic spherical nanomaterials were synthesized by hydrothermal method as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst, which can catalyze the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde by O2, thereby replacing stoichiometric oxidation reagents such as chromate and manganese oxide. CoFe2O4 has good oxidation activity and selectivity for benzyl alcohol. The catalyst catalyzes the preparation of formaldehyde from benzyl alcohol oxide by O2 at 150 °C, with a conversion rate of 95.3% and a yield of 96.7%. Furthermore, the catalyst is recycled for 5 consecutive uses without significant degradation of its catalytic performance.