Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol in Liquid Phase Catalyzed by Cobalt Oxide

Cobalt oxide was synthesized by mechano-chemical process in solid phase and was characterized by particle size analysis, nitrogen adsorption, XRD and DRIFT. A study was performed to evaluate the catalytic activities of cobalt oxide for oxidation of benzyl alcohol in liquid phase, using toluene as solvent. Benzaldehyde and benzoic acid were identified as the reaction products. Effects of various parameters like reaction time, temperature, catalyst loading and partial pressure of oxygen on reaction performance were studied. Activation energy was found as 46.14 kJ/mol. Langmuir-Hinshelwood type of mechanism was found to be applicable to experimental data. The catalyst was found to be heterogeneous in nature, which can be easily separated from the reaction mixture by filtration.