Silica-supported gold catalyst modified by doping with titania for cyclohexane oxidation

Amorphous silica was modified by doping with titania through a surface sol-gel process and applied as the support for depositing gold. These doped silica-supported gold catalysts were tested in the selective cyclohexane oxidation to cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol using oxygen. Under the oxidation conditions of 150 degrees C, 1.5 MPa and 3 h, a selectivity of 91.7% for cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol could be reached over the gold catalyst, affording a cyclohexane conversion of 8.4% and a turnover frequency up to 40,133 per hour. Moreover, the catalytic activity and selectivity could be well retained in 4 recycling oxidation reactions, showing a high stability of the gold catalyst supported on titania-doped silica.