Synthesis and characteristics of Mg‐Ni‐Al‐CO3 hydrotalcites for styrene oxidation

Mg‐Ni‐Al‐CO3 hydrotalcite‐like material was synthesized by coprecipitation method at a certain pH. The synthesized solids have been characterized by physical techniques, namely XRD, IR, TEM, and EDS. All synthesized samples showed a well‐defined hydrotalcite structure with the presence of nickel(II) ions in Mg‐Al hydroxide lattice. The Mg‐Ni‐Al‐CO3 catalyst has been tested for the oxidation of styrene with aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution and showed a good catalytic activity in the formation of benzaldehyde. Styrene conversion is in the range of 20‐85 % with the high selectivity to benzaldehyde at 50‐80°C, 4 hours.