Natural hydroxyapatite-supported MnO2: a green heterogeneous catalyst for selective aerobic oxidation of alkylarenes and alcohols

Natural hydroxyapatite-supported MnO2 (MnO2@NHAp) was easily prepared in situ from reduction of potassium permanganate with natural hydroxyapatite derived from cow bones in water at room temperature, and its structure was characterized using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The catalytic activity of the synthesized catalyst was investigated for the aerobic oxidation of alkylarenes and alcohols. MnO2@NHAp shows excellent catalytic performance for the oxidation of alkylarenes and alcohols to their corresponding carbonyl compounds without using any other oxidizing agent. This catalyst can be readily recycled and reused for several runs without any significant loss of efficiency. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.