Solvent-Free Oxidation of Primary Carbon-Hydrogen Bonds in Toluene Using Au-Pd Alloy Nanoparticles

作者：Lokesh Kesavan, Ramchandra Tiruvalam, Mohd Hasbi Ab. Rahim, Mohd Izham Saiman, Dan I. Enache, Robert L. Jenkins, Nikolaos Dimitratos, José Antonio López-Sánchez, Stuart H. Taylor, David W. Knight, Christopher J. Kiely, Graham John Hutchings · 发表于：Science · 年份：2011 · DOI：10.1126/science.1198458 · 被引用次数：825 · 研究领域：Catalytic Processes in Materials Science、Catalysis and Hydrodesulfurization Studies、Catalysis and Oxidation Reactions

Selective oxidation of primary carbon-hydrogen bonds with oxygen is of crucial importance for the sustainable exploitation of available feedstocks. To date, heterogeneous catalysts have either shown low activity and/or selectivity or have required activated oxygen donors. We report here that supported gold-palladium (Au-Pd) nanoparticles on carbon or TiO(2) are active for the oxidation of the primary carbon-hydrogen bonds in toluene and related molecules, giving high selectivities to benzyl benzoate under mild solvent-free conditions. Differences between the catalytic activity of the Au-Pd nanoparticles on carbon and TiO(2) supports are rationalized in terms of the particle/support wetting behavior and the availability of exposed corner/edge sites.