Efficient aerobic oxidation of alcohols catalyzed by NiGa hydrotalcites in the absence of any additives

The aerobic oxidation of alcohol catalyzed by NiGa hydrotalcites in the absence of any additives has been studied in detail. The research results revealed that the surface basicity significantly affected the catalytic performance. Moreover, the Brønsted OH basic site on Ni-containing hydrotalcites was suggested to be the key active site and accelerated the oxidation. The catalytic system had good tolerance for various alcohols, and an excellent selectivity of aldehyde could be obtained for the oxidation of primary alcohol. A probable non-radical reaction path for the transformation has been proposed according to the catalytic results, isotope labelling experiments and Hammett experiments.