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Effectively photocatalytic aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol catalyzed by spinel Co–Ni ferrite under visible light irradiation

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Abstract

Magnetic ferrite Co x Ni1−x Fe2O4 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, 1.0) nanocrystalline complex oxides were prepared by sol–gel auto-combustion method and well characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance UV–visible spectroscopy and N2 adsorption–desorption analysis. The catalytic performances of the as-prepared samples were evaluated in photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol using molecular oxygen as oxidant under visible light irradiation. The results have shown that the catalysts exhibit remarkably high activities in the photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol. In particular, 18.9 % of benzyl alcohol conversion and 90.1 % of selectivity for benzaldehyde were obtained when the sample Co0.3Ni0.7Fe2O4 was used as catalyst under optimum conditions. The catalyst could be magnetically separated easily for reuse, and no obvious loss of activity was observed when reused in six consecutive runs.

Graphical Abstract

Spinel Co–Ni ferrites were prepared by a facile, mild and environment-friendly route. The catalysts exhibit remarkably high activities in the photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol under visible light irradiation. The catalyst can be magnetically separated easily and has shown prominent recyclability.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51302222, 21363021), Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province (1308RJYA017) and Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (IRT1177) for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Eco-Environment-Related Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Jinhui Tong, Qianping Zhang, Lingdi Su & Qizhao Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Gansu Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, People’s Republic of China

    Jinhui Tong, Qianping Zhang, Lingdi Su & Qizhao Wang

  3. College of Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, People’s Republic of China

    Lili Bo

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  1. Jinhui Tong
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  2. Qianping Zhang
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Correspondence to Jinhui Tong.

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Tong, J., Zhang, Q., Bo, L. et al. Effectively photocatalytic aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol catalyzed by spinel Co–Ni ferrite under visible light irradiation. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 76, 19–26 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-015-3745-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-015-3745-x

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