Solvent-free aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol over palladium catalysts supported on MnO prepared using an adsorption method.

Pd nanoparticles supported on MnO (Pd/MnO-ads) have been synthesized via the adsorption method and characterized using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. The Pd nanoparticles with an average of 1.8 nm were highly dispersed on MnO and Pd ions were partially reduced to Pd. Pd/MnO-ads exhibited high activity and selectivity to benzaldehyde for the aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol without any solvent, compared with Pd/MnO, Pd/CeO and Pd/FeO catalysts. Moreover, Pd/MnO-ads showed remarkably higher activity than the catalysts prepared by adsorption-reduction and co-precipitation methods. The catalyst can be reused several times without obvious loss of its activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]