Selective aerobic oxidation of alcohols over Au–Pd/sodium titanate nanotubes

•Aerial oxidation of alcohols over Au–Pd/NaTNT catalysts•Alcohol oxidation in the absence of solvent and base•Particle size, dispersion and electron density of Au influence the catalytic activity.•Higher catalytic activity of Au–Pd/NaTNT than Au/NaTNT, Pd/NaTNT and Au–Pd/TiO2

The catalytic application of Au–Pd nanoparticles supported on sodium titanate nanotubes (NaTNTs) for liquid-phase aerobic oxidation of alcohols is reported, for the first time. This reaction occurs at 80–120 °C, 1 atm and solvent-/alkali-free conditions yielding the corresponding carbonyls in high selectivity. This catalyst was reusable and found to be more active/selective than the corresponding monometallic Au and Pd catalysts and Au–Pd/TiO2. Higher dispersion, smaller particle size and higher amount of electron density at gold are the causes for the superior activity of Au–Pd/NaTNT catalyst.

Graphical abstractAu–Pd supported on sodium titanate nanotubes showed a higher activity than the corresponding monometallic Au and Pd and Au–Pd/TiO2 catalysts for the aerial oxidation of alcohol to carbonyl compounds.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide