Catalyst Performance of the Calcined Products of CoAl Layered Double Hydroxide in the Aerobic Oxidation of Ethylbenzene

A series of Co-containing catalysts have been obtained from Co 2 Al layered double hydroxide (Co 2 Al-LDH) via calcining it under different temperatures. The characterization results demonstrated that calcination significantly impacted the structure, physic-chemical properties and the catalytic performance in the aerobic oxidation of ethylbenzene. The sample treated under 250 ℃ (Co 2 Al-LDO(250)) exhibited the highest catalytic activity and selectivity to the corresponding acetophenone, which was proposed to be related to its high specific surface area and high content of Co 2+ in the surface. Under the optimized conditions (ethylbenzene 1 mmol, NHPI 0.1 mmol, Co 2 Al-LDO(250) 0.1 g, trifluorotoluene 3 mL, O 2 5 mL/min, 100 ℃, 8 h), the conversion of ethylbenzene and selectivity of acetophenone reached 75.3% and 93.4%, respectively, and no obvious loss of activity was observed when the spent catalyst reused in six consecutive runs. Graphical Abstract