Synthesis and Characterization of Fe3O4/Carbon Dot Supported MnO2 Nanoparticles for the Controlled Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohols

In recent past, magnetic catalyst has gained much attention because it can be easily separated from the reaction mixture. Herein we report a facile synthesis of magnetic carbon dot supported MnO2 nanoparticles for the oxidative transformation of organic compounds. In the actual synthesis, initially Fe3O4 nanoparticles were prepared by microwave assisted method and carbon dots were prepared instantaneously from glucose by simple incineration under closed condition. The synthesized carbon dots were coated over iron oxide nanoparticles via sonochemical deposition method. Further, magnetic carbon dot supported MnO2 nanocomposite was synthesized by conventional homogeneous precipitation using potassium permanganate. The synthesized nanocomposite material was characterized using FT-IR, SEM, TEM, XRD and VSM techniques. The catalytic efficiency of the nanomaterial was successfully demonstrated for the oxidation of benzyl alcohols to benzaldehydes. The advantages of this method include, controlled oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes with broad substrate scope, the use of molecular oxygen as a green oxidant and beyond that a facile magnetic separation of the catalyst material. Moreover, the catalyst can be recycled for 5 times without much loss in its efficiency.