Enhanced activity of alcohol oxidation on nitrogen-doped carbon by Fe-N interaction

Oat-derived N-doped carbon with tunable N content (OA-NCs) were synthesized and applied in alcohol oxidation to selectively produce aldehyde. OA-NCs exhibited unexpectedly high performance in the oxidation of benzyl alcohol, cinnamyl alcohol and furfuryl alcohol. N species were characterized to interpret its promoting effect on their catalytic activity. Oxidation activity of pyridinic N in OA-NCs was sensitive to their structure while reac-tivity assessment disclosed it was more active to convert alcohols in presence of Fe3+, rather than pyrrolic-N or graphite-N. The superoxide radical was evidenced as the most reactive oxygen species in this reaction. The strong metal-support interaction (MSI) between pyridinic N and Fe3+, indicated by DFT calculation, was determined to be critical for the high activity of OA-CNs catalysts. The present work provides the insight into the positive effect of N-metal interaction in carbon materials on O2 activation and explores a green pathway for the selective production of aldehydes.

Automated summary

Oat-derived N-doped carbon with tunable N content (OA-NCs) was synthesized and found to exhibit unexpectedly high performance in alcohol oxidation to selectively produce aldehyde. The catalytic activity was promoted by the interaction between pyridinic N and Fe3+, and the superoxide radical was identified as the most reactive oxygen species. This study provides insight into the positive effect of N-metal interaction in carbon materials on O2 activation and presents a green pathway for selective aldehyde production.