Undecatungstophosphate anchored to MCM-41: An ecofriendly and efficient bifunctional solid catalyst for non-solvent liquid-phase oxidation as well as esterification of benzyl alcohol

• Synthesis and characterization of undecatungstophosphate anchored to MCM-41.
• Bi-functional solid catalyst used in oxidation as well as esterification reactions.
• Kinetic evaluation for esterification and oxidation reaction.
• Potential of being used as recyclable catalysts after simple regeneration.

Undecatungstophosphate anchored to MCM-41 was synthesized and characterized by various physicochemical techniques. The bifunctional catalytic activity was evaluated for esterification as well oxidation reactions of benzyl alcohol. The influence of different parameters such as molar ratio, amount of catalyst, reaction time and reaction temperature on oxidation as well as esterification of benzyl alcohol was investigated for maximum conversion. Detailed kinetic studies reveal that the reactions follow first order kinetics and the low values of activation energy for esterification and oxidation indicates that the reaction rate is truly governed by the chemical step. The present bifunctional catalyst can be recycled without any significant difference in % conversion for both reactions. Further, oxidation and esterification of various alcohols were also carried out under optimized conditions to see the effect of chain length and type of alcohols.

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