Aerobic oxidation of alcohols under mild conditions catalyzed by novel polymer-incarcerated, carbon-stabilized gold nanoclusters

Polymer-incarcerated, carbon-stabilized gold nanoclusters were found to be highly active in heterogeneous catalysis for the oxidation of secondary alcohols using molecular oxygen in aqueous medium. After optimization of catalyst preparation methods, highly loaded and highly effective catalysts were obtained, and a broad range of secondary alcohols could be oxidized by using these catalysts under mild conditions. The catalysts could be recovered and reused several times without significant loss of activity. Moreover, kinetics of the oxidation reaction with (+/-)-1-phenylethanol was investigated.