Au-TUD-1: A new catalyst for aerobic oxidation of cyclohexene

A new, gold-containing the 3-D amorphous mesoporous TUD-1 with different Si/Au ratios (100 and 200) was synthesized by one-step hydrothermal synthesis technique by using triethanolamine as a template. Two samples (denoted as Au-TUD-1) were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transition electron microscopy (HR-TEM), nitrogen physisorption and elemental analysis. The obtained characterization data confirm the formation of Au nanoparticles inside the mesopores of TUD-1 matrix. The catalytic activity of Au-TUD-1 was evaluated in the aerobic oxidation of cyclohexene at 343 K in the presence of TBHP as an initiator. The results showed that Au-TUD-1 is an active, stable and reusable catalyst; moreover, the small nanoparticles (i.e. 2-4 nm) are more catalytically efficient than the bigger nanoparticles of 6-8 nm size. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.