Gold nanoparticles immobilized onto supported ionic liquid-like phases for microwave phenylethanol oxidation in water

•Supported ionic liquid-like phases as support and stabilizer of gold-nanoparticles.•Synergetic combination of different green enabling technologies.•Good performance as oxidation catalyst.•Selective heating under microwave irradiation.

Advanced crosslinked polymeric materials based on poly(ionic liquid)s, also named supported ionic liquid-like phases (SILLPs) combine some unique characteristics of ionic liquids with the general property profile of macromolecular architectures, and present huge potential in energy-/environment-/catalysis-oriented applications, in the development of “smart” dispersants and stabilizers, etc. One of these relevant applications is highlighted by the present results that involve their use for the preparation and stabilization of different type of catalytic units, in particular metal nanoparticles (MeNPs) in order to develop greener catalytic processes. Different kinds of stable AuNPs can be prepared from SILLPs-related polymeric materials and have been used for the efficient oxidation of phenyl ethanol, under aerobic conditions, using H2O2 as the oxidant and under microwave irradiation.

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