Highly Active and Recyclable CuxFe3‐xO4 NPs for Selective Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol using TBHP as an Oxidant

Abstract

AbstractHerein, we report the synthesis of CuxFe3‐xO4 nanoparticles (NPs) via a novel, facile, cost‐effective, and eco‐benign method using a water‐soluble egg‐white. The characterization studies confirmed that the fabricated CuxFe3‐xO4 NPs are crystalline and possess super‐paramagnetic behavior. The fabricated magnetic CuxFe3‐xO4 NPs also exhibited excellent catalytic performance towards the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde using tetra‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as an oxidant under solvent‐free conditions. It was found that the addition of egg‐white during the synthesis significantly enhanced both the crystallinity and catalytic activity. Among the prepared ratios, Cu1.5Fe1.5O4 demonstrated the highest conversion (>73 %) and complete selectivity (100 %) to benzaldehyde under lenient oxidation conditions. The novelty of the work lies in achieving the magnetically recoverable CuxFe3‐xO4 NPs in the absence of any base or other organic reagents and is highly selective for the production of benzaldehyde under the mild reaction condition.