Supported nano gold as a recyclable catalyst for green, selective and efficient oxidation of alcohol using molecular oxygen

The myth that gold cannot act as a catalyst has been discarded in view of recent studies, which have demonstrated the high catalytic efficiency of pure nano-gold and supported nano-gold catalysts. In recent years, numerous papers have described the use of supported nano-gold particles for catalysis in view of their action on CO and O-2 to form CO2, as well as a variety of other reactions. Special emphasis is placed on the oxidation studies undertaken on model nano-Au systems. In this work a solvent free oxidation of 1-phenyl ethanol was carried out using gold supported on ceria-silica, ceriatitania, ceria-zirconia and ceria-alumina at 160 degrees C. Almost 88-97% conversion was obtained with > 99% selectivity. Temperature screening was done from 70 to 160 degrees C. Catalysts were prepared by deposition co-precipitation method and deposition was determined by EDEX analysis.