Silver nanoparticles supported on silica-coated ferrite as magnetic and reusable catalysts for oxidant-free alcohol dehydrogenation

Silver (0) nanoparticles supported on silica-coated ferrite were synthesized to be used as an efficient and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for oxidant-free dehydrogenation of alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl compounds. The catalyst can be easily recovered and reused for 8 reaction cycles without considerable loss of activity. The facile recovery of the catalyst is carried out by applying an external magnetic device. The catalyst was fully characterized by the techniques of TEM, SEM, XRD, EDS, ICP-AES, and VSM.