Wool supported manganese dioxide nano-scale dispersion: a biopolymer based catalyst for the aerobic oxidation of organic compounds

A wool supported manganese dioxide nano-scale dispersion (MnO2@wool) was synthesized by soaking wool in a potassium permanganate solution and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The synthesized catalyst, MnO2@wool complex, has been found to be able to catalyze the selective aerobic oxidation of alkyl arenes, alcohols, oximes, and sulfides to their corresponding carbonyl and sulfoxide compounds in the absence of additional oxidizing reagent. The selective conversion of thiols to disulfides was carried on by this biopolymer based supported catalyst, too.