Solvent-Free Microwave-Induced Oxidation of Alcohols Catalyzed by Ferrite Magnetic Nanoparticles

A series of first-row-transition-metal ferrite magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) MFe2O4 [M = Mn2+ (1), Fe2+ (2), Co-2+ (3), Ni2+ (4), Cu2+ (5) or Zn2+ (6)] were prepared by the co-precipitation method and characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope -energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Those NPs were used as catalysts for the microwave-assisted oxidation of various alcohols in solvent-free medium. MnFe2O4 (1), CoFe2O4 (3) and CuFe2O4 (5) act as catalysts for the conversion of alcohols to the corresponding ketones or aldehydes with a yield range of 81 to 94% in 2 h at 120 degrees C using t-BuOOH as an oxidant. These catalysts can be readily isolated by using an external magnet and no significant loss of activity is observed when reused up to 10 consecutive runs. The effects of some parameters, such as temperature, time, type of oxidant and presence of organic radicals, on the oxidation reactions were also investigated. The presented literature overview highlights the advantages of our new 1-6 NPs catalytic systems in terms of efficiency and economy, mainly due the used microwave (MW) heating mode.