Oxidation of Alkyl Aromatics Over SBA-15 Supported Cobalt Oxide

SBA-15 supported Co3O4 with different weight percentage have been prepared by wet impregnation method. The prepared catalysts were characterised by XRD, DRUV-vis, FT-IR, N-2 adsorption-desorption, TPR, XPS, SEM and TEM. The TPR profile revealed good dispersion of active sites and interaction of Co3O4 on SBA-15 support. The catalytic activity of SBA-15 supported Co3O4 was evolved in liquid phase benzylic oxidation under mild condition using H2O2 as the oxidant. The benzylic oxidation was ascribed by hydrogen abstraction of the C-H bond. The various reaction parameters such as Co3O4 loading, solvent, temperature and reaction time on the catalytic activity were also investigated. The 5 wt% of Co3O4/SBA-15 catalyst was found to exhibit high conversion (similar to 75 %) with product selectivity of similar to 87%.