title: Mechanistic insight into the catalytic oxidation of cyclohexane over carbon nanotubes: kinetic and in situ spectroscopic evidence.
abstract: As some of the most interesting metal-free catalysts, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and other carbon-based nanomaterials show great promise for some important chemical reactions, such as the selective oxidation of cyclohexane (C6H12). Due to the lack of fundamental understanding of carbon catalysis in liquid-phase reactions, we have sought to unravel the role of CNTs in the catalytic oxidation of C6H12 through a combination of kinetic analysis, in situ spectroscopy, and density functional theory. The catalytic effect of CNTs originates from a weak interaction between radicals and their graphene skeletons, which confines the radicals around their surfaces. This, in turn, enhances the electron-transfer catalysis of peroxides to yield the corresponding alcohol and ketone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, PR China.
authors.forename: Xixian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Hongjuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Wenxu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: Zikang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Peng
keywords: carbon nanotubes; charge transfer; cyclohexane oxidation; in situ spectroscopy; reaction mechanisms