Hydrotalcite-based CoxNiyAl1Ox mixed oxide as a highly efficient catalyst for selective ethylbenzene oxidation

Expediting Ethylbenzene Oxidation via a Bimetallic Cobalt-Manganese Spinel Structure with a Modulated Electronic Environment

The catalytic oxidation of ethylbenzene (EB) into acetophenone (AP) is a vibrant area, with a growing number of researchers paying attention to this thematic investigation. Herein, we demonstrate that spinel-type (Co,Mn)(Co,Mn)2O4 can function as an efficient catalyst for the solvent-free oxidation of EB with molecular oxygen. The incorporation of Mn into the Co3O4 network can break the local structural symmetry of Co-O-Co linkages due to the bond competition, inducing the formation of an asymmetrical Co-O-Mn configuration with an electron local exchange interaction. The Co-O-Mn sites can facilitate the perturbation of nonpolar O2 and thus contribute to the generation of abundant •O2- species for initiating the oxidation of EB. We envision that this study not only provides a promising catalyst for EB oxidation but also affords a new insight into the design of advanced spinel oxides for selective oxidation reactions.

Cr-Containing Rare-Earth Substituted Yttrium Iron Garnet Ferrites: Catalytic Properties in the Ethylbenzene Oxidation

A series of the Cr-containing erbium substituted yttrium iron garnet ferrites (ECYIG) was synthesized with distinct Cr amounts, herein referred to as Y3(Er0.02Fe5Cr1−x)O12, where x refers to Cr amounts from 0 to 0.05. The catalytic performance of the solids was investigated in ethylbenzene oxidation in the presence of hydrogen peroxide to assess the role of Cr and Er present in the YIG garnet lattice for fine chemistry compound production. Raman spectroscopy, HRTEM, EPR and FTIR revealed that the insertion of Er (at a fixed amount of 2%) in dodecahedral sites had a great impact on the catalytic activity of the garnets. Both Er3+ and Y3+ in the lattice simultaneously provided structural stability to the garnet structure in any harsh environment. XPS and EPR indicated that the Cr3+ ions replaced those of Fe3+ located in both octahedral and tetrahedral sites of the YIG garnets. The Cr3+ ions acted as electronic promoter to increase the oxidation rate of the Fe3+ active species responsible for activating the EB molecule. SEM-EDS demonstrated that the solids having Cr amounts lower than 4% experienced the most severe deactivation due to the Cr leaching and strong carbon species adsorption on the surface of the catalysts, which decreased their efficiency in the reaction.

Multistep protection strategy for preparation of atomically dispersed Fe–N catalysts for selective oxidation of ethylbenzene to acetophenone

Atomically dispersed Fe atoms on three-dimensional N-doped hollow carbon spheres single-atom catalyst was prepared, which exhibit excellent catalytic performance for the catalytic oxidation of ethylbenzene under mild reaction conditions.