Co/rGO synthesized via the alcohol-thermal method as a heterogeneous catalyst for the highly efficient oxidation of ethylbenzene with oxygen

Abstract

Co₃O₄ nanoparticles uniformly dispersed on reduced graphene oxide (Co/rGO) were synthesized by the alcohol-thermal method as a highly efficient catalyst with initiator NHPI for the selective oxidation of ethylbenzene to acetophenone using O₂ as a green oxidant. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were carried out for chemical, morphological, and size analyses of the nanocomposite. The ensuing catalyst was evaluated for the oxidation of ethylbenzene with a high conversion of 84.1% and an acetophenone selectivity of 96.2% within only 2 h. Moreover, the Co/rGO catalyst showed good recyclability and activity towards the selective oxidation of ethylbenzene. It was revealed that the enhanced catalytic activity of Co/rGO was derived from the interaction of the active Co₃O₄ center and the graphene support material.