One-step drawing of continuous basalt fibers coated with palladium nanoparticles and used as catalysts in benzyl alcohol oxidation

The continuous basalt fibers (CBFs) coated with palladium (Pd) nanocatalysts were prepared via one-step drawing strategy by using dispersion of Pd/montmorillonite (Pd@MMT) as the sizing. The prepared composite fibers (Pd@MMT/CBFs) were woven into fabrics and were used as fixed-bed catalyst for oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BzOH). The woven Pd@MMT/CBFs monolith was featured with “three-dimensional architecture” which afforded excellent catalytic performance (conversion 96%, selectivity 90%) and superior resistance to sustaining liquid flow shock. It was found that the tensile strength of CBFs was well preserved even the catalyst was exposed to a violent flow of BzOH+H2O2 at velocity of 0.1–0.6 m/s, and the mass loss was