Transforming Waste Clamshell into Highly Selective Nanostructured Catalysts for Solvent Free Liquid Phase Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol

Abstract

High yield production of benzaldehyde in the solvent-free oxidation of benzyl alcohol by using green catalysts is highly desirable. In this work, calcium hydroxide derived from waste clamshell was used as low-cost and environmentally friendly catalyst support (CaSUP) for Pd and V nanoparticles. The physicochemical properties of the catalysts were analyzed using X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) technique, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The catalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde was studied in a liquid phase reaction by using H2O2 as an oxidizing agent. The effects of catalyst loading, the molar ratio of hydrogen peroxide to benzyl alcohol, temperature and reaction duration were investigated. In the optimized conditions, Pd nanoparticles supported on clamshell-derived supports displayed excellent catalytic conversion (88%) and selectivity to benzaldehyde (89%). Furthermore, the catalyst can be effectively reused without a significant loss in its activity and selectivity. The high yield and stability can be related to the structural and basic properties of the catalyst. These results provide important insights into the benzyl alcohol oxidation process for industrial applications.