Facile synthesis, characterization, and catalytic activity of Cr(III) Schiff base complex immobilized on layered double hydroxide

Abstract

In the chemical industry, designing high-performance catalysts for the oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbon into value-added products such as benzaldehyde and benzoic acid is critical. In this study, the catalytic activity of chromium Schiff base complex supported on layered double hydroxide for the liquid phase oxidation of toluene was examined. The chromium Schiff base complex supported catalyst was synthesized by the intercalation method and abbreviated as LDH-[NAPABA-Cr(III)]. The obtained material was characterized by various physical techniques such as ICP-AES, XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, TEM, TGA, and EPR. The catalytic activity of the heterogenized Cr(III) Schiff base complex was tested for the oxidation of toluene using tert-butyl hydroperoxide as an oxygen source. Furthermore, the hot filtration experiment revealed that the LDH-[NAPABA-Cr(III)] was a heterogeneous catalyst that could be reused at least seven times without significant loss of catalytic activity.

Keywords

• Layered double hydroxide (LDHs)
• Heterogeneous catalyst
• Schiff base complex
• Toluene oxidation
• Tert-butyl hydroperoxide