Synthesis, characterization, and selective benzyl alcohol aerobic oxidation over Ni-loaded BaFeO3 mesoporous catalyst

A series of cubic porous perovskites with the general formula BaFe1−xNixO3 have been prepared via the sol-gel-citrate route and investigated as a catalyst for the aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BzOH) to benzaldehyde (BzH) using molecular O2 as the oxidant under ambient pressure. Doping and the synergetic interaction between Ni and Fe ions in the BaFeO3 perovskites significantly affected the conversion, product selectivity, specific activity, turnover number, and turnover frequency. A BzH selectivity of >99.9% was achieved in the oxidation of BzOH. Among the prepared perovskites, BaFe0.4Ni0.6O3 showed the highest catalytic conversion and specific activity under the optimized reaction conditions. Based on the catalytic performance, further studies on the recyclability, and influences of temperature and catalyst loading were carried out using this catalyst. The catalyst recyclability test showed a negligible loss in activity after five consecutive cycles.