Synergistic effect between CeO2 nanowires and gold NPs over the activity and selectivity in the oxidation of thioanisole

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles incorporated on ceria nanowires have been employed as efficient nanocatalysts for the selective oxidation of thioanisole. The control of both physical and chemical parameters as well as metal–support interactions are important factors that determine their performances. Considering their one-dimensional morphology with large surface area, thin diameters, high concentration of oxygen vacancies, and small Au NPs uniformly on the entire CeO2 surface with a high fraction of oxidized gold species, these characteristics make them favorable nanocatalysts for oxidation transformations. The CeO2-Au nanowires displayed improved performances towards the oxidation of thioanisole when compared to the pure CeO2 nanowires and commercial CeO2-Au catalysts. The CeO2-Au nanowires catalyzed the selective synthesis of methyl phenyl sulfoxide with up to 100 % of selectivity and high conversion. The impact of solvent and temperature during the catalytic reaction was also experimentally and theoretically investigated by DFT calculations, indicating a key role in the observed activities.