Surface modification of multi-walled carbon nanotubes to produce a new bimetallic Fe/Mn catalyst for the aerobic oxidation of hydrocarbons

Fe/Mn bimetallic heterogenized catalyst [Fe/Mn(THPP)@MWCNT] was prepared by the simultaneous attachment of Mn and Fe porphyrins onto the surface of functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes. This new bimetallic nanohybrid displays a superior catalytic performance (81%) in comparison with their analogous monometallic counterparts (36% and 44% for Fe- and Mn-porphyrin respectively) in the oxidation of hydrocarbons with molecular oxygen as the sole oxidant. Experiments comparing bimetallic catalyst with equivalent physical mixtures of monometallic catalysts revealed the catalytic synergistic effect amongst metallic active centers onto the surface of the same nanotube, introducing a new class of bimetallic porphyrin-based catalysts for oxidation reactions. (C) 2018 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.