Synthesis, characterizations and catalytic allylic oxidation of limonene to carvone of cobalt doped mesoporous silica templated by reed leaves

•Reed leaves as biotemplates to synthesis cobalt doped mesoporous silica•Efficiently catalyzed allylic oxidation of limonene to carvone•Recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for organic transformation

Reeds (Phragmites communis) leaves were successfully used as template in synthesis of cobalt doped mesoporous silica (Co/SiO2/PC). The catalyst exhibited very high substrate conversion (100%) and relatively good product (carvone) selectivity (40.2%) for allylic oxidation of limonene to carvone using air as oxidant and acetic anhydride as solvent without adding any initiator. Fast hot catalyst filtration experiment proved that the catalyst acted as a heterogeneous one and it can be recycled easily and reused two times without significant loss of activity and selectivity.

Graphical abstractReeds (Phragmites communis) leaves were successfully used as template in synthesis of cobalt doped mesoporous silica which was employed as efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the allylic oxidation of limonene using air as oxidant. The catalyst exhibited high conversion and good product (carvone) selectivity and can be recycled.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide