Aerobic Oxidative Esterification of Aldehydes with Alcohols by Gold–Nickel Oxide Nanoparticle Catalysts with a Core–Shell Structure

Oxidative esterification of aldehydes with alcohols proceeds with high efficiency in the presence of molecular oxygen on supported gold–nickel oxide (AuNiO x ) nanoparticle catalysts. The method is environmentally benign because it requires only molecular oxygen as the terminal oxidant and gives water as the side product. The AuNiO x nanoparticles have a core–shell structure, with the Au nanoparticles at the core and the surface covered by highly oxidized NiO x . Aerobic oxidative esterification of methacrolein in methanol to methyl methacrylate is an important industrial method for the production of polymethyl methacrylate.