Catalytic Activity of CuFe 2 O 4 Spinel Oxide for Liquid‐Phase Oxidation of Cinnamyl Alcohol

CuFe 2 O 4 spinel oxide catalyst was synthesized by sol–gel and co‐precipitation methods for liquid phase oxidation of Cinnamyl alcohol (CnOH) to Cinnamaldehydes (CnHO) using tert‐Butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as oxidising agent. Spinel oxide catalyst was characterized by different techniques such as X‐ray diffraction (XRD), N 2 adsorption‐desorption, BET surface area, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to understand the structural, physical properties and oxidation state of the catalyst. The result shows that catalyst prepared by sol‐gel method was found higher surface area and smaller crystalline size than co‐precipitation method. XPS data confirm the formation of Cu 2+ in the spinel which helps to improve the catalytic activity of oxidation. This reaction follows radical mechanism, and exhibited 76.7 % of CnOH conversion and 68.4 % of CnHO, and 24.8 % benzaldehyde (benzald) selectivity using TBHP at 60 °C. Kinetic data reveal that 41.2 kJ/mol of activation energy for the reaction. The higher activity of spinel oxide catalyst could be due synergetic effect of spinel (88 %) and oxides (12 %) formed in the catalyst, which helps to provide the oxygen during reaction. The contribution of Cu 2+ is higher in sol‐gel than co‐precipitation, which may provide the better reactivity of catalyst. This work helps to select the effective and cost‐effective catalyst for the oxidation of CnOH.