Oxidation of benzyl alcohol by using gold nanoparticles supported on ceria foam.
The efficacy of using cerium oxide foams as a support for Au nanoparticles and subsequent use as oxidation catalysts have been investigated. These were synthesized using L-asparagine to produce a cerium coordination polymer foam, which was calcined to give the oxide foam. Au nanoparticles were supported on the CeO(2) foams using a sol-immobilization method. The activity of the Au/foamCeO(2) for solvent-free benzyl alcohol oxidation was superior to standard Au/CeO(2) catalysts, and the activity was found to be dependent on the crystallization time of the precursor foam. A crystallization time of 4 h was found to produce the most active catalyst, which retained activity and a high selectivity to benzaldehyde (ca. 96 %) when re-used and this is related to the structure of the material. The high activity is attributed to the greater lability of surface oxygen in the support compared with commercial CeO(2) materials.
Cardiff Catalysis Institute, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Mosaed
M
Alhumaimess
Zhongjie
Z
Lin
Weihao
W
Weng
Nikolaos
N
Dimitratos
Nicholas F
NF
Dummer
Stuart H
SH
Taylor
Jonathan K
JK
Bartley
Christopher J
CJ
Kiely
Graham J
GJ
Hutchings
D019905:Benzyl Alcohol / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D002563:Cerium / Q000737:chemistry*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction
D002563:Cerium; C030583:ceric oxide; D006046:Gold; D019905:Benzyl Alcohol