Mesoporous silica-supported Ni–Co composite metal oxide as a heterogeneous catalyst for air oxidation of benzyl alcohols

A mesoporous silica-supported Ni–Co composite metal oxide has been synthesized and applied as an effective heterogeneous catalyst for the selective catalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohols. Various characterization methods were employed to confirm the successful synthesis of the catalysts and their nanostructure. The catalytic performances of these catalysts in the selective oxidation of substituted benzyl alcohols to aromatic aldehydes were systematically investigated using molecular oxygen from the air as the oxidant under atmospheric pressure. The NiCo@SBA-15 catalyst exhibited remarkable performance, achieving nearly 98 % conversion and almost complete selectivity at a temperature of 120 °C for 10 h, operating at 1 atm of air pressure. This catalytic performance can be attributed to the synergistic effect between Ni and Co ions, resulting in the generation of new surface-active sites in the catalyst. The catalyst also demonstrated favorable applicability and universality. Moreover, A plausible catalytic mechanism has been proposed involving the synergistic effect between bimetal species and oxygen vacancy.