CeVO4 materials prepared by a coprecipitation approach as non-noble metal oxide catalysts for liquid-phase aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol by atmospheric O2
摘要
Liquid-phase selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BZA) by atmospheric O2 is a sustainable route for the synthesis of benzaldehyde (BZL). Although noble metal catalysts showed excellent activity, the high cost and limited reserves of noble metals underscore the significance of developing efficient non-noble metal-based catalysts. Herein, cerium vanadate (CeVO4) materials were synthesized by a simple coprecipitation method and employed as heterogeneous catalysts for the selective oxidation of BZA by O2. Under the same reaction conditions, the CeVO4 materials demonstrated superior activity to the pure V2O5 and CeO2 samples, affording a high yield of BZL of 69% under a reaction temperature of 120 °C. For the CeVO4 materials, the catalytic activity correlated well with the percentages of Ce3+ and V4+ species, depending on the preparation temperatures. Moreover, the catalysts could be reused at least five times without significant loss in activity.
Graphical abstract