Highly Selective and Efficient Aerobic Epoxidation of Cyclooctene using Electrospun Co-doped Ceria Nanofiber Membranes

Herein, we present the successful synthesis of Co doped Ceria nanofiber catalysts. The synthesized catalysts exhibit uniform distributions of monomodal pore sizes and demonstrate high catalytic activities for the epoxidation of cyclooctene with high selectivity for cyclooctene epoxide and cyclooctene conversion without using any hazardous sacrificial oxidizing agents. Notably, they achieve exceptional selectivity toward cyclooctene epoxide and substantial cyclooctene conversion under aerobic conditions without using any hazardous sacrificial oxidizing agents. Additionally, this epoxidation process is both economically favorable and environmentally friendly, owing to low catalyst loading, ease of catalyst separation, and excellent reusability, yielding a unique catalyst system compared to those previously reported in the literature. Characterization of the synthesized catalysts was carried out using various analytical techniques, including Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), Nitrogen (N 2 ) sorption studies, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). These analyses provided a comprehensive understanding of the structural and chemical properties of the catalysts. Among the catalysts studied, the 5CoCe nanofiber catalyst (5 wt% Co-doped) exhibited the highest catalytic efficiency under aerobic conditions, achieving ≥99% selectivity for cyclooctene epoxide and 96% conversion of cyclooctene in the present study. • CoCe nanofibers with varying Co were synthesized for cyclooctene epoxidation. • Cyclooctene epoxidation occurred under aerobic conditions without using peroxides. • 5.0 wt% Co-doped Ce (5CoCe) exhibited the highest catalytic activity. • High epoxide selectivity (≥99%) and high cyclooctene conversion (96%) were achieved. • The catalyst displayed excellent reusability with no loss in activity or mesoporosity.