Surface modification of multi-walled carbon nanotubes to produce a new bimetallic Fe/Mn catalyst for the aerobic oxidation of hydrocarbons

[Display omitted] •Easy preparation of a new family of bimetallic porphyrin-based nanohybrides as heterogenized catalyst was reported.•Investigation of the structure, morphology and thermal stability of the prepared nanohybride.•Aerobic oxidation of alkenes and alkanes in the absence of any reducing agent and/or additives was investigated.•Bimetallic catalyst exhibited higher catalytic activity compared with monometallic one.•Synergistic effects between the immobilized metalloporphyrins were observed. Fe/Mn bimetallic heterogenized catalyst [Fe/Mn(THPP)@MWCNT] was prepared by the simultaneous attachment of Mn and Fe porphyrins onto the surface of functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes. This new bimetallic nanohybrid displays a superior catalytic performance (81%) in comparison with their analogous monometallic counterparts (36% and 44% for Fe- and Mn-porphyrin respectively) in the oxidation of hydrocarbons with molecular oxygen as the sole oxidant. Experiments comparing bimetallic catalyst with equivalent physical mixtures of monometallic catalysts revealed the catalytic synergistic effect amongst metallic active centers onto the surface of the same nanotube, introducing a new class of bimetallic porphyrin-based catalysts for oxidation reactions.