Highly selective oxidation of alcohols catalyzed by Cu(II)-Schiff base-SBA-15 with hydrogen peroxide in water

An efficient catalyst for selective oxidation of alcohols was prepared by grafting the Cu(II) Schiff base complex onto the channels of mesoporous silica material SBA-15. The characterizations illustrated that the functionalized SBA-15 maintained the primary hexagonally ordered mesoporous structure, and the Cu(II) Schiff base complexes were bonded inside the mesoporous channels of SBA-15. The selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol was carried out in water phase with hydrogen peroxide. The C₆H₅CH₂OH conversion could reach 98.5 % with 100 % of the selectivity to C₆H₅CHO under the optimum conditions. The catalyst could also react well on the selective oxidation of other primary alcohols.